Metaphors we live by: systematicity of metaphorical concepts

Flatland

http://xkcd.com/721/

Metaphors We Live By brought about the concept that an idea is an object. If it were to be an object it would be a Rubik's cube. The metaphor we approach an idea from would tell us what dimensions of the cube and what lens to view it through. The concept of war from one side may have a mix of brutality and honor, while another sees only needless destruction. You could imagine that each is seeing the Rubik's cube from a different angle with different compositions of color altering the substance of the idea.

The comic, Flatland, demonstrates how a stick figure and a square relate their experiences of multidimensionality from different perspectives. It illustrates the concept of an idea as a Rubik's cube through that differing experiences brought about by different, yet similar meanings. Meanings that could all be tied around the idea of dimension.

This stance draws from a normative relativist perspective. Those who believe in multiple meanings, and truths accept that there is no absolute truth. Instead there are multiple relative truths that can be structured by the metaphors a society uses to create its own reality. This could explain the eagerness of a Viking Warrior to die in battle vs. The modern soldier who wishes to 'have the enemy die for his own country.' This exemplifies multiple truths from one idea.

To operationalize the Rubik's cube as a unit of analysis for an idea let's break down the various components of the cube. The original cube has nine tiles per face, six faces (like a die), and six colors per side. There are exactly 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 permutations that the cube can take. To create the metaphor of the Rubik's cube as the root of an idea, we can imagine each permutation having its own total absolute meaning.