The aura of metaphor - Many Minds
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- Title
- The aura of metaphor
- Description
- <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Metaphors matter. They enliven our speech and our prose; they animate our arguments and stir our passions. Some metaphors power political movements; others propel scientific revolutions. These little figures of speech delight, provoke, captivate, shock, amuse, and galvanize us. In one way or another, metaphors just seem to help us make sense of a messy world. But how do they do all this? Whence their peculiar powers? What does it say about the human mind that we just can't escape our metaphors—and frankly don't want to?</span><span class= "s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My guest today is <a href= "https://www.stephenflusberg.com/"><span class="s2">Dr. Stephen Flusberg</span></a>. Steve is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Vassar College, where he directs the Framing, Reasoning, And Metaphor (FRAME) Lab.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here, Steve and I talk about what metaphors are and why we're so drawn to them. We discuss some of the misleading ideas about metaphor you may remember from middle school literature class. We consider why some metaphors work and others flop. We talk about the metaphors we use for climate change and prevalence and potency of war metaphors across different realms of public discourse. We consider how metaphor operates in science and in scientific theorizing. Finally, we talk about the question of whether there are some ideas that we simply can't grasp literally, concepts we can only approach through metaphor.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Along the way, Steve and I talk about: "aura farming"; nautical metaphors and textile metaphors; the outmoded idea that metaphors are mere adornments; metaphor versus analogy; dead metaphors and how to resuscitate them; shadows and footprints; Dan Dennett's technique of metaphorical triangulation; and the brain-as-computer metaphor—and whether it is actually a metaphor.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Alright, friends this is a fun one. Steve has spent his entire career exploring this fascinating terrain—and, as you'll see, he's a lively and affable guide. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Steve Flusberg.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> </span><span class= "s3"> </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s3"><em>Notes</em></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">3:00 – For more on "beige flags," see <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/style/beige-flag-tiktok-dating.html"> <span class="s2">here</span></a>. For more on "aura farming," see <a href= "https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/1l00ne1/why_are_people_talking_about_aura_farming/"> <span class="s2">here</span></a>.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">8:00 – For an overview of metaphor in communication and thought, see <a href= "https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul-Thibodeau/publication/332982301_The_role_of_metaphor_in_communication_and_thought/links/5f21d21aa6fdcccc439928f6/The-role-of-metaphor-in-communication-and-thought.pdf"> <span class="s2">here</span></a> for an article by Dr. Flusberg and co-authors.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">18:00 – The "life is a journey" (or "career is a journey") metaphor—as well as other examples we discuss—are treated at length in the classic book, <a href= "https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3637992.html"> <span class="s2"><em>Metaphors We Live By</em></span></a>.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">24:00 – For a detailed academic treatment of the relationship between metaphor and analogy, see <a href= "https://groups.psych.northwestern.edu/gentner/papers/GentnerA2K01.pdf"> <span class="s2">here</span></a>.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">32:00 – Some of the best-studied "orientational metaphors" are those found in the domain of time. See <a href= "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027799000736"> <span class="s2">here</span></a> and <a href= "https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-we-make-sense
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-29T18:48:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/the-aura-of-metaphor
- Length
- 96:00
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1769712480-5236.mp3
- Size
- 131.85 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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