Review of Metaphors We Live by

Abstract

Metaphors We Live by published by Lakoff and Johnson in 1980, is considered a classic masterpiece of cognitive linguistics and exerts a profound influence on both linguistics and cognitive science. To solve the problems encountered by logical positivism in the study of metaphor, Lakoff argues that metaphor is ubiquitous in language and is grounded in our bodily experiences to be studied experientially. He notes that language is metaphorical, those abstract concepts are understood through metaphor, and that metaphor is a mapping of conceptual structures from one domain to another as is said by Liu in 2001. This paper attempts to comment on it. It is hoped that the comment will not only open up a new avenue of research in cognitive linguistics but also provide a more profound perspective for other fields of study.