Linguistic evidence reveals strong cognitive links between certain basic concepts, and suggests that these links structure much of conscious, subjective experience. The study presented here takes as its starting points two questions about the conceptual theory of metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; etc.): How must the conceptual mappings which underlie metaphorical language be described in order to most accurately account for linguistic data? and, How does the need for plausible motivations constrain these mappings? I propose a new analytical framework--the theory of primary metaphors--which addresses both these questions. If metaphorical language is analyzed in terms of structured mappings between very basic concepts then patterns in metaphorical language are successfully predicted, and patterns of conceptual association (or binding) can be plausibly accounted for in terms of recurring correlations in experience. The experiences which could plausibly motivate the conceptual bindings in primary metaphors are primary scenes--recurrent, basic event-types which involve a tight correlation between perceptual experience and subjective response. These tight correlations--e.g., between the heaviness of objects and the strain we experience in lifting them--are the plausible bases for bindings between concepts, which ultimately give rise to linguistic metaphor. The dissertation also explores the possible relevance of primary scenes to other aspects of language, including children's semantic and conceptual development and the organization of basic semantic domains such as spatial relations. Most importantly, the findings have implications regarding the nature of subjective mental experience. Given current neurological theories about the nature of thought and reason (e.g., Damasio 1994)--particularly, the central role of images--primary metaphors are implicated as basic building blocks of phenomenological experience. They provide the cognitive link between "objective," bodily experiences and subjective responses to the environment. (Dissertation Abstracts)