Ah yes, we're definitely on the same page.
I'm big on understanding the human's use of
metaphor-as-descriptor of reality.
I'd go so far to suggest that metaphors building on metaphors is
likely the ONLY way we have access to knowledge at all. Not
literary metaphors, but rather using analogies to build
analogies.
It's littered all over our languages. Staring us right in the
face. We hardly even realize it. It's one of those things that's
amazing when you can start to see it.
Preliminary brain scan stuff seems to indicate that our
metaphorical language and our body's experience of the world
(and our mental representations of it) are all intrinsically
linked together.
Person says, "I was dumped and my heart is broken" Brain scans
seem to indicate pain centers in the brain that are activated
when there is a heart attack are the same areas "having a broken
heart" shows.
I've been collecting this kind of stuff here and there. I'm
fascinating by human conceptualization and the limitations of
metaphors on our potential.
Useful but when overused, they straightjacket our ability to see
possibilities. Sometimes I'll count the metaphors i can
identify in my own writing or the writing of others. I love
etymology for that reason as well; roots often point to a
physical basis or basis in activity. Or looking for places where
have personified a concept that ought to be a verb instead.
"Love" is a good example.
