Books › Metaphors We Live By
Metaphors We Live By
First published 2004 · 286 pages
A paradigm-shifting exploration that permanently alters how you hear, read, and speak everyday language.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like putting on a pair of glasses that suddenly reveals the hidden matrix of human thought. It moves at a steady, deliberate pace, patiently dismantling the illusion that language is merely a neutral tool for describing the world. Instead, the prose—clear, structured, and relentlessly analytical—guides you into a state of dizzying realization, showing how invisible linguistic frameworks dictate our actions, arguments, and affections. The mood is deeply contemplative and intellectually electrifying, transforming mundane conversations into fascinating psychological puzzles. It is a profoundly satisfying read for anyone who loves pulling back the curtain on human behavior, leaving you with a permanent, lingering hyper-awareness of the words you and everyone else choose to use.
- Mood
- intellectually stimulating
- contemplative
- paradigm-shifting
- Tone
- analytical
- illuminating
- earnest
- persuasive
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the architecture of thought · embodied cognition · the power of language · constructing reality
- The writing
- Clear, structured, and didactic, relying heavily on everyday examples to build a compelling, accessible argument.
- The arc
- Moves from a state of taking everyday speech for granted to a profound, dizzying awareness of how words construct reality.
- Who it's for
- Curious minds fascinated by linguistics, psychology, and the invisible forces that shape human perception.
About the book
Metaphor, the authors explain, is a fundamental mechanism of mind, one that allows us to use what we know about our physical and social experience to provide understanding of countless other subjects. Because such metaphors structure our most basic understandings of our experience, they are "metaphors we live by"--Metaphors that can shape our perceptions and actions without our ever noticing them. --from publisher description.
Description from Open Library.
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