Publications

Publication details [#14462]

Bundgaard, Peer. 2019. The structure of our concepts: A critical assessment of Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a theory of concepts. Cognitive Semiotics 12 (1) : 1–11. 11 pp.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English

Abstract

The paper weighs the applicability of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson 1980) and treats it as a theory of concepts, based on recent experimental findings. The outcome is controversial because, although it provides evidence for the psychological reality of cross-domain mappings, it cannot account for the activation of cross-domain mappings when the human mind processes conventional conceptual metaphors. The author suggests that it is necessary to distinguish between cross-domain mappings and the metaphoric structure of our concepts and to reconsider the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The author proposes a different theory of concepts which approaches concepts as vague predicates, with vague extensions.