Metaphorical Paradoxes : A Window on the Conceptual System

Metaphorical paradoxes: A window on the conceptual system Kathleen Ahrens National Chung Cheng University Ingkva(uccunix. ccu. edu tw Abstract This paper reviews the inconsistencies surrounding the English metaphor of the Self and demonstrates that 1) similar metaphorical paradoxes concerning the Self exist in Chinese and Japanese, and 2) these paradoxes occur in English, Japanese, and Chinese because the Inner Self (our internal voice) is being compared either with the Social Self (how we interact with others) or the Physical Self (our body). Thus the paradoxes reflect what the psychologist William James referred to in 1892 as the 'spiritual me, material me, and social me' . In addition, these paradoxes mirror neurological phenomena found in brain damaged patients. In short, the linguistic and neurological findings point to a strikingly similar portrait of the Self, and argue for studying metaphorical paradoxes in greater detail in order to gain insight into other aspects of our conceptual framework. 1. Introduction Understanding metaphors is a crucial part of understanding language. If one says 'Let me stew over that for a while' or 'We need to let that idea percolate' these sentences could be quite confusing if the hearer does not understand the metaphor in English that IDEAS ARE FOOD. Understanding metaphors is also an important aspect of understanding the conceptual systems of the language speakers. When the TIME IS MONEY metaphor is found in a language (i.e. Don't waste my time; How much is my time worth to you?) it necessarily follows that these speakers have an economic system where an individual is paid for labor according to the amount of time spent on the labor. One aspect of understanding metaphors that has not been extensively explored is the fact that both within and across languages there are many contradictory metaphors. Lakoff [I] demonstrated that inconsistencies in the metaphorical system of the Self exist for both English and Japanese. The fact that these paradoxes exist may inform us about the human conceptual system. For example, if two languages share the same metaphorical paradoxes even though they do not share the same cultural background, 'these metaphors are tapping into some sort of real human experience' [1]. What Lakoff is not able to explain, however, is what the 'real human experience' is that creates these inconsistencies that are inherent in metaphors referring to the Self In this paper I will review the inconsistencies surrounding the English metaphor of the Self and then I will demonstrate that, 1) similar metaphorical paradoxes concerning the Self exist in Chinese and Japanese and 2) these 139 paradoxes occur in English, Chinese and Japanese because the Inner Self (our internal voice) is being compared either with the Social Self (how we interact with others) or the Physical Self (our body). Thus the paradoxes reflect what the psychologist William James referred to in 1892 as the 'spiritual me, material me, and social me' [2]. In addition, I will argue that these paradoxes mirror phenomena found in brain damaged patients. In short, the linguistic …

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