Metaphor and Cognition: An Interactionist Approach

466 Pages·1992·14.763 MB·English

by  Bipin Indurkhya (auth.)

METAPHOR AND COGNITION
STUDIES IN COGNITIVE SYSTEMS
VOLUME 13
EDITOR
James H. Fetzer, University of Minnesota, Duluth
ADVISORY EDITORIAL BOARD
Fred Dretske, Stanford University
Ellery Eells, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Alick Elithom, Royal Free Hospital, London
Jerry Fodor, Rutgers University
Alvin Goldman, University of Arizona
Jaakko Hintikka, Boston University
Frank Keil, Cornell University
William Rapaport, State University of New York at Buffalo
Barry Richards, Imperial College, London
Stephen Stich, Rutgers University
Lucia Vaina, Boston University
Terry Winograd, Stanford University
The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
METAPHOR AND COGNITION
An lnteractionist Approach
by
BIPIN INDURKHYA
Computer Science Department,
Boston University, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Inaurkhya, B1p1n, 1959-
Metaphac and cogn1t1on an lnteract1Dnlst approach 1 B1p1n
Indurk:hva.
p. em. -- !StudieS 1n cogn1t1ve systems ; v. 131
Incluaes 01DI1ograph1cal references and 1ndexes.
ISBN 978-90-481-4146-3 ISBN 978-94-017-2252-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-2252-0
1. Symbolism <Psychologyl 2. Metaohor--Psycholaglcal aspects.
3. Analogy--Psychoioglcal aspects. 4. S1m1 lar•ty <Psychology I
5. Cogn1t1on. I. Title. II. Ser1es.
6"458. I 53 1992
153--dc20 92-7189
ISBN 978-90-481-4146-3
Printed on acid-free paper
On the Cover: Other World by M.C. Escher.
© 1947 M.C. Escher I Cordon Art-Baam - Holland
Collection Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
All Rights Reserved
© 1992 Springer Science+B usiness Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1992
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1992
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
In the memory of my grandmother
and
to Xela
SERIES PREFACE
This series will include monographs and collections of studies devoted to the
investigation and exploration of knowledge, information, and data-processing
systems of all kinds, no matter whether human, (other) animal, or machine.
Its scope is intended to span the full range of interests from classical
problems in the philosophy of mind and philosophical psychology through
issues in cognitive psychology and sociobiology (concerning the mental
powers of other species) to ideas related to artificial intelligence and com
puter science. While primary emphasis will be placed upon theoretical,
conceptual, and epistemological aspects of these problems and domains,
empirical, experimental, and methodological studies will also appear from
time to time.
The nature of metaphor and the nature of cognition are both illuminated in
this stimulating study by Bipin Indurkhya. Beginning with a distinction
between conventional metaphors, similarity-based metaphors, and similarity
creating metaphors, he elaborates the idea that similarity-creating metaphors,
which affect an interaction between the source of the metaphor and its target,
fulfill a fundamental role in human cognition. In addition to the development
of his own account, Indurkhya thoughtfully examines alternative theories and
evaluates their strengths and weaknesses. By placing the problems of
metaphor within the framework of cognition, this work makes an exception
ally valuable contribution to understanding the nature of the mind.
J.H.F.
vii
Contents
Acknowledgments XV
Prologue 1
I The Problem 11
1 Characterizing Metaphor 13
1.1 Introduction ...... . 13
1.2 Some Examples of Metaphors 14
1.3 Characteristics of Linguistic Metaphors 17
1.4 Degrees of Metaphoric Content:
The Conventional vs. the Metaphorical 19
1.5 Metaphors in Non-Linguistic Domains 21
1.6 Metaphors, Similes, Analogies and Models 26
1.6.1 Metaphors and Similes . . 26
1.6.2 Metaphors and Analogies . 28
1.6.3 Metaphors and Models 34
1. 7 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . 36
2 Enter Similarity-Creating Metaphors 39
2.1 Introduction ............. . 39
2.2 Some Examples of Similarity-Creating Metaphors 40
2.3 Psychological Studies of the Creation of Similarity . 45
2.4 Creation of Similarity in Metaphor-Related Phenomena . 48
X
2.4.1 Simile . 48
2.4.2 Analogy 49
2.4.3 Models . 54
2.5 Similarities and Creative Problem Solving 56
2.5.1 Similarities Before and After the Metaphor . 57
2.5.2 Similarities After but Not Before the Metaphor 59
2.5.3 Similarities Before but not After the Metaphor . 63
2.6 Conclusions: The Problem of Similarity-Creating Metaphors 63
3 Approaches to Similarity-Creating Metaphors 65
3.1 Introduction 65
3.2 Max Black . 68
3.3 Paul Ricoeur 74
3.4 Carl Hausman . 75
3.5 Wheelwright - Mac Cormac 76
3.6 The Lakoffian Approach .. 78
3. 7 My Earlier Approach .... 84
3.8 Kittay's Perspectival Theory 86
3.9 Conclusions . . . . . . 90
4 Cognition as Interaction 93
4.1 Introduction ..... . 93
4.2 Empirical Support for the Interaction View of Cognition 94
4.2.1 Concepts are More than Aggregates of Sense Data . 95
4.2.2 Concepts can Organize the World Differently . . . . 100
4.2.3 Concepts Cannot Organize the World Arbitrarily . 104
4.2.4 'Universals' and the Physiological Basis of Cognition 105
4.2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.3 From Kant to Goodman: Worldmaking 111
4.4 Piaget 's Constructivism . . . . . . . . 116
4.5 Lakoff-Johnson: The Bodily Basis of Cognition . 124
4.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
xi
II A Theory 129
5 An Interactionist Approach to Cognition:
Informal Overview 131
5.1 Introduction 131
5.2 An Example 135
5.3 Concept Networks. 151
5.4 Environments and Sensorimotor Data Sets 158
5.5 Cognitive Relations and Coherency 161
5.6 Accommodation and Projection 164
5.7 Cognitive Models . . . . . . . 169
5.7.1 Groupings on the Environment 170
5. 7.2 Accommodation and Projection: Another Perspective 174
5. 7.3 Representation and Description . . . . . . 176
5. 7.4 Some Other Miscellaneous Notions . . . . 178
5.8 Layered Cognitive System and Multiple "Worlds" 179
5.9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 187
6 An lnteractionist Approach to Cognition:
Formal Concepts 189
6.1 Introduction .. .. 189
6.2 Classes and Groupings 191
6.3 Relations and Induced Groupings 194
6.3.1 Preliminary Definitions . 194
6.3.2 Difunctional Relations 196
6.3.3 Relations Within a Class 201
6.4 Functions and Operators 202
6.4.1 Functions 203
6.4.2 Operators 204
6.5 Algebras and Structures 205
6.5.1 Algebras .. ... 205
6.5.2 Descriptions and Structures 209
6.5.3 Closures and Generating Classes . 214
xii
6.5.4 Closure Over Operators . . . . 216
6.5.5 Computability of Operators . . 216
6.6 Subalgebras and Finite Generativity . 217
6. 7 Groupings on Algebras: Algebras of Classes 220
6.8 Relations Between Algebras: Correspondences 223
6.8.1 Products of Algebras and Correspondences 224
6.8.2 Groupings Induced by Correspondences . 227
6.8.3 Difunctional Correspondences 229
6.9 Cognitive Models .......... . . 232
6.9.1 Basic Definition ....... . . 232
6.9.2 Local Coherency and Coherency . 234
6.9.3 Some Characteristics of Cognitive Models 235
6.10 Cognitive Models Over an Environment. 236
6.11 Projective and Accommodating Models 239
6.12 Finite Representability and Coherency 241
7 An Interaction Theory of Metaphor 245
7.1 Introduction ...... . . 245
7.2 Metaphor as Projection. . 246
7.3 Nomenclature Associated with Metaphor 253
7.4 Modes of Metaphor ........... . 256
7.4.1 Similarity-Based (Comparative) Metaphors . 256
7.4.2 Similarity-Creating (Projective) Metaphors . 271
7.5 Summary ...................... . 279
III The Implications 283
8 Some Metaphor-Related Issues 285
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . 285
8.2 The Thesis 'All Knowledge is Metaphorical' 286
8.2.1 Version 1: All Knowledge is Projective 287
8.2.2 Version 2: All Thought is Comparative 289