Metaphor : Its Cognitive Force and Linguistic Structure

The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive philosophical theory which explains the cognitive contribution of metaphor. The argument is illustrated with analysis of metaphors from literature, philosophy, science, and everyday language.

This book provides a comprehensive philosophical theory explicating the cognitive contribution of metaphor. Metaphor effects a transference of meaning, not between two terms, but between two structured domains of content, or ''semantic fields''. Semantic fields, construed as necessary to a theory of word-meaning, provide the contrastive and affinitive relations that govern a term''s literal use. In a metaphoric use, these relations are projected into a second domain which is thereby reordered with significant cognitive effects.The book is a detailed revision and refinement of ''the semantic theory of metaphor''. Taking into account pragmatic considerations and recent linguistic and psychological studies, the author forges a new understanding of the relation between metaphoric and literal meaning. She amply illustrates her thesis with sensitive and systematic analyses of metaphors found in literature, philosophy, science, and everyday language.