Käsitemetaforiateoria

Käsitemetaforiateoria, often translated as Conceptual Metaphor Theory, is a theory of cognition and language developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. It proposes that abstract concepts are understood and reasoned about in terms of more concrete ones, through the use of metaphors. These are not simply linguistic figures of speech, but fundamental structures of thought. For example, the abstract concept of "love" might be understood metaphorically as a "journey" (e.g., "our relationship hit a dead end," "we've come a long way together").

The theory suggests that these conceptual metaphors are systematic and pervasive in our language and thought. They are often unconscious and shape how we perceive, understand, and interact with the world. Key to the theory is the idea of "mapping," where elements of the source domain (the concrete concept) are systematically mapped onto elements of the target domain (the abstract concept). For instance, in the "argument is war" metaphor, we see mappings like "attacked his weak points," "defended my position," and "won the argument."

Lakoff and Johnson argue that these metaphors are not arbitrary but arise from our bodily experiences and interactions with the physical environment. They provide a framework for understanding how abstract thought is grounded in our more embodied experience. The theory has been influential in linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, and artificial intelligence, offering insights into the nature of meaning, reasoning, and human cognition. It suggests that much of our abstract thought is not purely rational or abstract, but deeply metaphorical and embodied.