aedu 431 - week 4 - learning object - john ellis

Language and MetaphorLanguage, Communication, and Learning

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Introduction

Welcome to Language and Metaphor, your final learning object for Language, Communication, and Learning (AEDU 432). In this session, we will learn about

• Thomas Aquinas and analogies• Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor model• Two theoretical approaches to metaphor• Metaphor’s role in learning• The mechanics and aesthetics of metaphors and analogies

Introduction Language and Metaphor

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Introduction

After completing this learning object and this week’s writing assignment (detailed in your syllabus), you should be able to

• Define the technical terminology related to metaphors and analogies• Explain noteworthy theories about metaphors• Describe the role of analogies and metaphors in communication and

learning• Create effective metaphors for learning based on sound theory• Assess the quality of metaphorical language in explanations

Introduction Language and Metaphor


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Aquinas on Analogy

Language and Metaphor

Metaphors We Live By

Ways of Thinking

about Metaphors

Metaphors in Learning

How Metaphors

Work

Click on any of the topics to the right to begin a lesson. Each learning module is a self-contained segment that will take about five minutes to complete. The conclusion and references can be accessed by clicking the corresponding control in the lower left.

References

Conclusion

Thomas Aquinas (1273) used the idea of analogy to describe the figurative nature of language. In Aquinas’s model, the analogical is the continuum between the equivocal and univocal use of a term.

Aquinas on Analogy

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Aquinas on Analogy Language and Metaphor

AnalogicalEquivocal Univocal

A term is used univocally when it is applied to multiple things in the exact same way. For example, if you were to see two dogs, and call each a dog, you are using dog univocally, because you are applying the term to each animal in the same way. So too if you see two men, and say of each that he is a man. You have used man in the exact same way in each instance.

Aquinas on Analogy

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Previous

A term is used equivocally when it is applied in a completely different way. An extreme example would be the word pen. Pen means something very different when it is applied to a writing instrument and when it is applied to a home for pigs. In this case, it just happens to be the same word, with two unrelated meanings (McInerny, 1996).

Aquinas on Analogy

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A term is used analogically when it is somewhere in between. It isn’t used in the exact same way, but it also isn’t used completely differently. For example, we might use smart to describe a man and a dog. We aren’t using smart to mean the exact same thing in each case, but we are acknowledging an analogical relationship between the two instances.

Aquinas on Analogy

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“When anything is predicated of many things univocally, it is found in each of them according to its proper nature; as animal is found in each species of animal. But when anything is predicated of many things analogically, it is found in only one of them according to its proper nature, and from this one the rest are denominated. So healthiness is predicated of animal, of urine, and of medicine [analogically]. From the health of the animal, medicine is called healthy, in so far as it is the cause of health, and urine is called healthy, in so far as it indicates health. And although health is neither in medicine nor in urine, yet in either there is something whereby the one causes, and the other indicates health” Thomas Aquinas (1273, I, 16, 7).

Aquinas on Analogy



“How things named equivocally and those named univocally differ is now clear. The latter have a common name, and the same [concept] is signified by the name as it is used of each. In equivocals, on the other hand, although they have a common name, the name signifies different [concepts] as applied to them” (McInerny, 1996, p. 93).

“When a term is said to be analogous, it is contrasted with univocal and purely equivocal terms. That is, the analogous term is a type of shared or common term. Things are said to be named univocally when the term they share receives exactly the same account as applied to each, whereas things are said to be named equivocally when, though they share the same term—the same orthographic symbol of the same vocal sound—the term receives quite unrelated accounts as applied to them. The analogous term is located between these two” (McInerny, 1996, p. 53).

Aquinas on Analogy




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A term is used when it is applied to multiple things in the exact same way.

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Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

A term is used when it is applied to multiple things in the exact same way.



Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

Correct!

A term is used when it is applied to multiple things in a completely different way.

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Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

A term is used when it is applied to multiple things in a completely different way.



Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

Correct!

According to Aquinas, a term is used when it is predicated of many

things in a manner that is not entirely different, but also not entirely the same.

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Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

According to Aquinas, a term is used when it is predicated of many

things in a manner that is not entirely different, but also not entirely the same.



Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

Correct!

In Aquinas’s model, in an advertisement that claims a strong athlete like Aaron Rodgers only drives a strong truck like Ford, how is the word strong being used?

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Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

In Aquinas’s model, in an advertisement that claims a strong athlete like Aaron Rodgers only drives a strong truck like Ford, how is the word strong being used?

(cf. Gula, 1979, p. 114)



Analogically

Metaphorically

Univocally

Equivocally

Correct!

Way to go! You’re finished!

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Metaphors We Live By Language and Metaphor

In the book Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) proposed a theory that higher-order, abstract concepts are metaphorically structured on our more concrete, primitive experiences.




For example, we might naturally say that someone has “buttressed his argument,” a metaphor from architecture. What if “buttressed” is not a unique metaphorical concept, but a manifestation a larger, conceptual metaphor that THEORIES ARE BUILDINGS, which ties together other figurative language about theories like support, structure, frame, scaffold, and so on (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 106)?

“Because concepts are metaphorically structured in a systematic way, e.g., THEORIES ARE BUILDINGS, it is possible for us to use expressions (construct, foundation) from one domain (BUILDINGS) to talk about corresponding concepts in the metaphorically defined domain (THEORIES). … The metaphorical concept THEORIES ARE BUILDINGS is used to structure the concept THEORY” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 52).




These elaborate metaphorical structures allow us to go beyond the fundamentals of a metaphor—like a building’s foundation and structure. The metaphorical concept provides an opportunity for inventive metaphor, to explore the target concept further, by considering, metaphorically, the ideas of many rooms, winding hallways, or poor design (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, pp. 52–55).

What does a theory with winding hallways suggest? How about a theory with many rooms?




“Certain concepts are structured almost entirely metaphorically. The concept LOVE, for example, is structured mostly in metaphorical terms: LOVE IS A JOURNEY, LOVE IS A PATIENT, LOVE IS A PHYSICAL FORCE, LOVE IS MADNESS, LOVE IS WAR,” and so on (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 85).

“This is typical of emotional concepts, which are not clearly delineated in our experience in any direct fashion and therefore must be comprehended primarily indirectly,” through metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 85).




Although Lakoff and Johnson’s theory provides useful insight and rings intuitively true in many respects, broad claims that all human interaction is understood entirely by analogy from more primal, physical domains (like ARGUMENT IS WAR), are not empirically substantiated (Howe, 2008).

Analogy and metaphor may help us communicate ideas creatively, and multiple metaphors provide multiple frameworks for us to see or experiment with connections, but that does not mean that our understanding of them is metaphorical. Source domains are certainly useful, but may not be necessary or fundamental (Howe, 2008).


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Which metaphorical domain might be responsible for the question where is this relationship going?

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LOVE IS WAR

LOVE IS MADNESSLOVE IS A JOURNEYLOVE IS A PATIENT


Which metaphorical domain might be responsible for the question where is this relationship going?


Correct!


LOVE IS WAR

LOVE IS MADNESSLOVE IS A JOURNEYLOVE IS A PATIENT

Two conceptual metaphors for argument are AN ARGUMENT IS A CONTAINER and AN ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY.

Which of the options seems to be most inline with the AN ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY metaphor?

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Your argument has holes in it

Your argument is vacuous

Your argument won’t hold water

You’re off in the wrong direction


Two conceptual metaphors for argument are AN ARGUMENT IS A CONTAINER and AN ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY.

Which of the options seems to be most inline with the AN ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY metaphor?


Correct!


Your argument has holes in it

Your argument is vacuous

Your argument won’t hold water

You’re off in the wrong direction

Which conceptual metaphor is most likely responsible for the following statements?

“I’ll put in my two cents.”

“He certainly has a wealth of ideas.”

“This book is a treasure trove of ideas!”

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IDEAS ARE MONEYIDEAS ARE FASHIONSIDEAS ARE LIGHT SOURCESIDEAS ARE PRODUCTS


Which conceptual metaphor is most likely responsible for the following statements?

“I’ll put in my two cents.”

“He certainly has a wealth of ideas.”

“This book is a treasure trove of ideas!”


Correct!


IDEAS ARE MONEYIDEAS ARE FASHIONSIDEAS ARE LIGHT SOURCESIDEAS ARE PRODUCTS



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Language and Metaphor

Ways of Thinking about Metaphors

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Ways of Thinking about Metaphors Language and Metaphor

There are two distinct ways of thinking about how metaphors function. Neither seems to fully explain all metaphorical language, but together they help us to understand the role metaphors play in our thinking, communication, and learning.

The first approach we’ll discuss looks at metaphors as a comparison of two conceptual domains. The second approach sees metaphors as a matter of class inclusion.




Let’s take the metaphor, “My boss is a cockroach.”

When looking at metaphors as comparing two different conceptual domains, the vehicle domain (insect) and the tenor or target domain (managers) are compared, providing the metaphor with meaning (Trick & Katz, 1986).




The further apart the domains, the better. Metaphors with far-off domains are more pleasing and easier to understand (Trick & Katz, 1986). In many instances, metaphors will compare a concrete domain, like insects, and an abstract domain, like personality (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980).

“With objects coming from [substantially] different domains, the dimensions (or features) shared in common would be much more salient, hence more available for the drawing of inferences and thus easier to comprehend.” Trick & Katz (1986, p. 203).




The conceptual domain approach to metaphors is explored further in the “Metaphors We Live By” section of this learning object.




The class inclusion approach to metaphors provides a complementary perspective on the role metaphors play in our thinking.

Finding similarities between disparate things and grouping them together into categories or classes is central to the way we perceive the world (Quine, 1969).




Classification is “the ordering of entities into groups or classes on the basis of their similarity. Statistically speaking, we generally seek to minimize within-group variances, while maximizing between-group variance. This means that we arrange a set of entities into groups, so that each group is as different as possible from all other groups, but each group is internally as homogenous as possible” (Bailey, 1994, p. 1).




“People understand metaphors such as ‘My lawyer is a shark’ as a class inclusion assertion that casts the concepts my lawyer and shark into a common category of animals and people that are vicious, aggressive, unpleasant, tenacious, and so forth. … The term shark is extended to name the superordinate category to which the literal shark and the metaphor topic my lawyer now belong” (Glucksberg, Newsome, & Goldvarg, 2001, pp. 279–280).




In the class inclusion approach, metaphors are a form of conceptual grouping. By saying “crime is a disease,” I am suggesting that crime and disease are similar enough in certain respects to say that there is a group of things (things that are hard to stamp out or things that infect and spread quickly, for example) that contains both crime and disease (Chiappe, Kennedy, & Smykowski, 2003).


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In the metaphor my boss is a shark, what is the tenor or target domain?

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Animals

Employment

Managers

Ways of Thinking about MetaphorsWays of Thinking about Metaphors Language and Metaphor

In the metaphor my boss is a shark, what is the tenor or target domain?


Correct!


Animals

Employment

Managers

According to the class inclusion approach, what superordinate class do you think is being employed in the metaphors, my spouse is my rock, my anchor?

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Things providing stability

Things preventing enjoyment

Things providing enjoyment

Things you love

According to the class inclusion approach, what superordinate class do you think is being employed in the metaphors, my spouse is my rock, my anchor?


Correct!


Things providing stability

Things preventing enjoyment

Things providing enjoyment

Things you love

Thinking in terms of class inclusion, how would you complete the following metaphor so that it represents the group “things that are limiting and unenjoyable?”

My cubicle is a .

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disaster

black hole

boxing ring

jail cell


Thinking in terms of class inclusion, how would you complete the following metaphor so that it represents the group “things that are limiting and unenjoyable?”

My cubicle is a .


Correct!


disaster

black hole

boxing ring

jail cell


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Metaphors in Learning Language and Metaphor

“When students study new concepts, meaningful learning proceeds when they find and visualize connections between a newly taught context and what they already know” (Harrison & Treagust, 2006, p. 11).

“The primary function of metaphor is to provide a partial understanding of one kind of experience in terms of another kind of experience” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 154).


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Metaphors are tools for us to help learners understand new ideas in old terms—like thinking of the atom as the solar system.

“Compare the relevant subject matter to something that your learners are already familiar with, so you can leverage the storage and retrieval capabilities of one of their existing mental models” (Dirksen, 2012, p. 48). “If the analogies are appropriate, they promote concept learning because they encourage students to build links between past familiar knowledge and experiences and new contexts and problems” (Harrison & Treagust, 2006, p. 11).

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In other words, analogy or metaphor—the taking of a familiar thing and applying it to unfamiliar things—is the way new information is gathered. Acquiring new knowledge is the process of applying what is already known to a new domain and verifying the postulated understanding corresponds to reality (Hoffmann, 1999, pp. 288–289; Allbritton, 1995).

For example, models and analogies are used in science to explain, or make intelligible, the otherwise unrelated events observed in an experiment (Hesse, 2001).

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“When metaphors are used in science they are part of a way of thinking; they function as structure maps between different, complex systems. Thus it is not the nouns of the metaphor (e.g., ‘water’) but the inherent verbs (e.g., ‘flows’) that convey the most significant meaning” (Carter & Pitcher, 2010, p. 581).

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Furthermore, analogical thought is creative and inventive and can bridge gaps in current understanding and thought (Cohen, 1998, pp. 12–13).

“Metaphor has been shown to serve a number of important cognitive functions, including that of making new conceptual domains accessible through metaphorical ‘scaffolds’ imported from better known domains, such as in the case of metaphors in science, and providing a coherent framework or schema for understanding everyday topics as time, arguments, and emotions” (Allbritton, 1995, p. 43).

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It’s important to keep in mind that “learners do not have the same perspective as the teacher who uses the metaphor. [The metaphor] works differently for the teacher who already knows than for the student who is building a new mental construct” (Carter & Pitcher, 2010, p. 581).

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“The primary function of metaphor is to provide a partial understanding of one kind of experience in terms of ” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 154).

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target domain experience

tenor domains

another kind of experience

Ways of Thinking about MetaphorsMetaphors in LearningMetaphors in Learning Language and Metaphor

literature or poetry

“The primary function of metaphor is to provide a partial understanding of one kind of experience in terms of ” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 154).


Correct!

Metaphors in LearningMetaphors in Learning Language and Metaphor

target domain experience

tenor domains

another kind of experience

literature or poetry

“Metaphor has been shown to serve a number of important cognitive functions, including that of making new conceptual domains accessible through metaphorical ‘scaffolds’ imported from domains” (Allbritton, 1995, p. 43).

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lesser known

unfamiliar

more abstract

better known


“Metaphor has been shown to serve a number of important cognitive functions, including that of making new conceptual domains accessible through metaphorical ‘scaffolds’ imported from domains” (Allbritton, 1995, p. 43).


Correct!


lesser known

unfamiliar

more abstract

better known

Which of the options is probably an ineffective metaphor for learning a new concept?

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Balls are like planets

Chemical bonding is like a magnet

Wetlands are like a sponge

Electricity is like water


Which of the options is probably an ineffective metaphor for learning a new concept?


Correct!


Balls are like planets

Chemical bonding is like a magnet

Wetlands are like a sponge

Electricity is like water


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How Metaphors Work

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How Metaphors Work Language and Metaphor

“As a rule, there is nothing in the words themselves to mark off metaphors from literal language. If a boundary could somehow be drawn, it would be in constant need of re-adjustment as metaphors become entrenched, idiomatic, and finally literal, and literal phrases are put to figurative or hyperbolic, and then metaphorical uses” (Cohen, 1998, p. 6)

“Metaphors … are like literature written small—they are really just very short stories. … We could, with some justice, reverse the claim: stories are really just long metaphors” (Cohen, 1998, p. 10).

How Metaphors Work



Metaphors “derive their power by a kind of inexactitude, at the point where we realize that in the transfer of qualities from A to B, there is a life or reality in each part that will not go, refusing to be either figurative or literal.” Look at the metaphor of God as shepherd. “In the end God is God, a shepherd is a shepherd, and the energy of the comparison derives from its breakdown, because of what they withhold from each other. We may wish to think of God as a shepherd, so the metaphor comes into being. But the power of the metaphor resides in what cannot be compared in God or Shepherd” (Jarman, 2007, p. 302).

How Metaphors Work



Metaphors make sense in a way that the real world does not. It is a creative “reworking” of the data into a simpler story, that is, ultimately, not reality (Jarman, 2007, p. 311). “To be a successful metaphor, a good metaphor, it must fall short. But it must do so in a dynamic way,” (p. 318). “Perhaps to succeed, metaphor has to fail in some way, to reflect the lack of unity it brings with it from the world” (p. 305).

In other words, it’s the differences, the parts that don’t work, that make metaphors work! The reason it is a metaphor, or figurative, is because it’s not quite right. And that is why it works.

How Metaphors Work



If I were to say, “My wife is an anchor,” depending on the context of the conversation, that could mean, “I don’t get to go out any more,” or “She has really provided the connectedness and peace and non-adriftness I needed” (Ritchie, 2004, pp. 277–279).

“The same metaphor plus different conversational and cognitive contexts leads to different neural connections, hence to different meanings, not only for the metaphor but also for the metaphorically described concept, ‘wife’ ” (Ritchie, 2004, p. 281).

“Each utterance is processed in the context of the currently activated information, and each participant’s representations are updated accordingly, including representations of the conversation thus far and of the underlying topic and purpose” (Ritchie, 2004, p. 279).

How Metaphors Work



When figurative or metaphorical language is used, it is comprehended by ignoring the literal dissimilarities and focusing on the figurative similarities.

“When people comprehend metaphors, relevant and irrelevant material become differentially accessible. Metaphor ground-relevant material becomes relatively accessible, whereas literal-specific ground-irrelevant material becomes relatively inaccessible” (Glucksberg, Newsome, & Goldvarg, 2001, p. 288).


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Figurative and literal language are in everyday use.

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the same

separated

not clearly delineated

clearly delineated

How Metaphors WorkHow Metaphors Work Language and Metaphor

Figurative and literal language are in everyday use.


Correct!

Metaphors in LearningHow Metaphors WorkHow Metaphors Work Language and Metaphor

the same

separated

not clearly delineated

clearly delineated

The inexactitude, the parts that don’t work, are what make metaphors .

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work

confusing

ambiguous

literal


The inexactitude, the parts that don’t work, are what make metaphors .


Correct!


work

confusing

ambiguous

literal

Conversational and cognitive help to determine a metaphor’s meaning.

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flexibility

complexity

dissonance

context


Conversational and cognitive help to determine a metaphor’s meaning.


Correct!


flexibility

complexity

dissonance

context


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IncorrectRoar!

Try again!

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Incorrect… Try Again! Language and Metaphor

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to complete this learning object! Hopefully you found it informative and helpful as you prepare for your writing assignment. Several key terms and important concepts about metaphors were discussed.

As you move on to working on your written assignment, keep the objectives for this week in mind:

• Define the technical terminology related to metaphors and analogies• Explain noteworthy theories about metaphors• Describe the role of analogies and metaphors in communication and

learning• Create effective metaphors for learning based on sound theory• Assess the quality of metaphorical language in explanations

Conclusion Language and Metaphor

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References

Allbritton, D. (1995). When metaphors function as schemas: some cognitive effects of conceptual metaphors. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 10(1), 33–46.

Bailey, K. (1994). Typologies and Taxonomies: An Introduction to Classification Techniques. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Carter, S., & Pitcher, R. (2010). Extended metaphors for pedagogy: using sameness and difference. Teaching in Higher Education, 15(5), 579–589.

Chiappe, D., Kennedy, J., & Smykowski, T. (2003). Reversibility, aptness, and the conventionality of metaphors and similes. Metaphor and Symbol, 18(2), 85–105.

Cohen, D. (1998). Schoolhouses, jailhouses and the house of being: the tragedy of philosophy’s metaphors. Metaphilosophy, 29(1/2), 6–19.

Dewey, J. (1910). How We Think. Mineola: Dover.Dirksen, J. (2012). Design for How People Learn. Berkley, CA: New Riders.Glucksberg, S., Newsome, M., & Goldvarg, Y. Inhibition of the literal: filtering

metaphor-irrelevant information during metaphor comprehension. Metaphor and Symbol,16(3/4), 277–293.

Gula, R. (1979). Nonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows: How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language. Mount Jackson: Axios Press.

Harrison, A., & Treagust, D. (2006). In P. Aubusson, A. Harrison, & S. Ritchie (Eds.), Metaphor and Analogy in Science Education. Dordrecht: Springer, 11–24.

Hesse, M. (2001). Models and analogies. In W. Newton-Smith (Ed.), A Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Malden: Blackwell, pages 299–307.

Hoffmann, M. (1999). Problems with Peirce’s concept of abduction. Foundations of Science, 4, 271–305.

Howe, J. (2008). Argument is argument: an essay on conceptual metaphor and verbal dispute. Metaphor and Symbol, 23, 1–23.

Jarman, M. (2007). To make the final unity: metaphor’s matter and spirit. Southern Review, 43(2), 301–318.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

McInerny, R. (1996). Aquinas and Analogy. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.

Quine, W. (1969). Natural kinds. In N. Rescher, C. Hempel, & D. Davidson (Eds.), Essays in Honor of Carl G. Hempel. Dordrecht: Reidel. In J. Kim & E. Sosa (Eds.), Metaphysics: An Anthology. Malden: Blackwell, 1999, 233–242.

Ritchie, D. (2004). Metaphors in a conversational context: toward a connectivity theory of metaphor interpretation. Metaphor and Symbol, 19(4), 265–287.

Thomas Aquinas. (1273). Summa Theologica. 5 volumes. (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.) Allen: Christian Classics, 1981.

Trick, L., & Katz, A. (1986). The domain interaction approach to metaphor processing: relating individual differences and metaphor characteristics. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 1(3), 185–213.

References Language and Metaphor

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aedu 431 - week 4 - learning object - john ellis

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