Cognitive nature of metaphor

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Cognitive nature of metaphor

Pavlenko A. S.

(Zaporizhzhia State Medical University)

The article explores the theoretical basis of the study of a metaphor as a cognitive unit, the approach to understanding metaphor, the process of metaphorization in view of the need for a modern individual to rethink the essence of cognition, mechanisms of generating and keeping the information, as well as learning some new information. Approaches to studying metaphor and its nature are presented in the article. The role of metaphor in the process of perception and interpretation of information, which makes it a key figure in cognitive linguistics, has a special place in the paper. In order to achieve the article's objectives, the process of metaphor creation and the role of metaphor in the “thinking / mental activity of a person - world” and “language - society/surrounding reality” systems and the relationship of these components were considered. It is noted that to create the metaphor a special process called reflection is needed, through which conceptual transference takes place. Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because they are embedded in the conceptual system of man. Metaphor is the result of the influence of individual creativity on the formal semantic structure. The conceptual process that gives rise to a metaphor recognizes both similar features, which the anomaly is based on and on the dissimilar ones, which the semantic anomaly is based on. Thus, the only real world accessible to a man is the world that is created by this individual in the process of cognition based on his own sensual experience. It has been revealed that the nature of metaphor is not constant and the level of the expressiveness can change during its existence - some of metaphors can almost lose their metaphorical component becoming a part of a regular language. So, according to the cognitive approach to metaphors' nature, metaphors are understood not just as a matter of language, but as a matter of thought as well.

Key words: cognitive linguistics, metaphor, cognitive metaphor, reflection

Павленко А. С. Когнітивна природа метафори.

У статті досліджено теоретичні засади вивчення метафори як когнітивної одиниці, підхід до розуміння метафори, процесу метафоризації з огляду на необхідність для сучасної людини переосмислення сутності пізнання, механізмів генерування та збереження інформації, а також процесу опанування нової інформації. У статті наведені підходи до вивчення метафори та її сутності. Особливе місце у роботі займає роль метафори у процесі сприйняття та інтерпретації інформації, що робить її ключовою фігурою у когнітивній лінгвістиці. Для досягнення поставленої мети були розглянуті процес породження метафори та роль метафори у системах «мисленнєва/розумова діяльність людини - навколишні світ» та «мова-суспільство/оточуюча дійсність». Зазначається, що для створення метафори необхідний спеціальний процес, який називається рефлексією, за допомогою якої відбувається концептуальна передача. Метафори як мовні вирази можливі саме тому, що вони вбудовані в понятійну систему людини. Метафора - результат впливу індивідуальної творчості на формальну смислову структуру Концептуальний процес, що породжує метафору, визнає як подібні риси, на яких базується аномалія, так відмінності, на яких ґрунтується семантична аномалія. Таким чином, єдиним реальним світом, доступним людині, є світ, який створюється цією людиною в процесі пізнання на основі власного чуттєвого досвіду. Було виявлено, що природа метафори не є постійною, і рівень виразності може змінюватися протягом її існування - деякі метафори можуть майже втратити метафоричний компонент, ставши частиною звичайної мови. Також встановлено, що метафора не є константою, та впродовж свого існування може змінювати рівень експресивної складової, проходячи шлях від авторської до стертої, або, навпаки, може набути нового значення в процесі розвитку людини та світу навколо неї.

Ключові слова: когнітивна лінгвістика, метафора, когнітивна метафора, рефлексія

Human consciousness has been, is, and will be, the greatest mystery to scientists, regardless of field of research or country of origin. The modern approach to study is not limited to research within the certain sciences. The synergy of the social, medical and human sciences helps to uncover the essence of consciousness and the process of cognition, and to outline the tools of expression of this process and its results through language. At the beginning of the third millennium, humanity aims to rethink the place and role of cognition, issues of reality and truth, rationality, the relationship between subject and object [Делокаров 2004, p. 97]. cognitive linguistics metaphor reflection

One of the sciences that studies the problems of human nature, the existence of the soul, consciousness and brain, life, immortality and religion is cognitive science [Нестерова 2015, p. 334].

And since language provides access to consciousness and thinking processes not only through the verbalization of the results of thinking activity, but also gives the opportunity to inform about the structures of consciousness and describe them.

Following the idea that language is the main means of reflecting human consciousness and way of thinking, in the process of studying metaphor, it was decided to refer to cognitive linguistics, the central place in which is kept for “categorization of reality that surrounds us”.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the nature of metaphor in terms of cognitive science.

The aim of the article is to clarify the theoretical basis of the study of metaphor in terms of cognitive science, to describe the process of “birth” of metaphor in the mind of a human being.

The object of the study is metaphor. The subject of the study is the nature and features of metaphor as seen by cognitive science.

The research papers by P. Ricoeur, E. Tolman, M. Nesterova, J. Lakoff, Ph. Wheelwright, E. McCormack, G Rodari, N. Owen and other prominent scientists served as the background for the article.

Cognitology (or cognitive science) is defined as an interdisciplinary scientific area that covers theory of cognition, cognitive psychology, neurophysiology, cognitive linguistics and artificial intelligence theory.

Another aspect of cognitive science is the science of knowledge, systems of methods and techniques for obtaining, processing, keeping and using human knowledge [Комлев 1995, p. 58].

The similar opinion was expressed by Yu. Plotynskyi. According to his idea interpretation is also one of the aspects of cognitology [Плотинский 2001, p. 54].

Summing up, cognitive science is the science which deals with the processes of acquiring, organizing, and using knowledge.

When perceiving information, a person uses a set of cognitive schemas, the so-called “mental plan and guide to action” [Neisser 1976, p. 20].

E. Tolman refers to this process with the term "cognitive map" [Tolman 1948, p. 191] which incorporates experience, “scientific schools”, “movement skills” in cognitive spaces that have been passed from generation to generation [Anokhin, Chernigovskaya 2014, p. 24].

The process of thinking of a person also changes with their development and P Ricoeur calls a metaphor a model of changing the way of perception of the surrounding reality that gives the opportunity to look at things differently [Рикер 1990, p. 425].

The core of cognitive science is cognitive linguistics, at the heart of which is language as a common cognitive mechanism. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the mind \ brain and human behavior. Our sensory sphere depends on the characteristics of the sensory organs, and cognition is limited by the capabilities of our brain. We are talking about the type of consciousness, a set of procedures, axioms, moves, logic, about the ways our brain can think [Нестерова 2016, p. 25].

According to K. Delokarov the only real world accessible to a man is the world that is created by this individual in the process of cognition based on his own sensual experience [Делокаров 2004, p. 98].

People use specific modes of expression for abstract concepts, drawing on the sensorimotor system, which gives rise to metaphorical thinking [Лакофф, Нуньес 2012, p. 31].

Cognitive linguistics goes beyond linguistics, covering logic, psychology, sociology, and philosophy [Маслова 2016, p. 6].

The metaphor itself, as a figure of speech, has attracted attention since Aristotle. In the 6070s of the 20th century, there was a particular interest in it, and the number of students studying the problem of metaphor grew in extraordinary progression [Джонсон, Лакофф, 2004, p. 7].

One of the main reasons for the emergence of the metaphor is considered to be the desire to save space in language by means of giving an already existed name to a new thing, a new idea, a concept or feeling as well as to embellish the language for the basic functions of rhetoric - to convince and please [Рикер 1990, p. 418].

Paul Henle gave the following definition of a metaphorical sign: “A sign is metaphorical if used with reference to an object which it does not denote in its literal use, but which possesses some features peculiar to the object, which had to be a literal denotation of that sign” [Henle 1990, p. 182-183].

But, as P. Ricoeur rightly points out, although the meaning is focused on the word, the content and sense are determined by the whole statement and depend on the semantics of the wordcombination or even the whole sentence. Since the “what” this metaphorical expression is about is something different and deeper than just the “what” it reports [Рикер 1990, p. 419].

As early as the second half of the 20th century, J. Lakoff and M. Johnson developed a theory of cognitive metaphor that changed the understanding of metaphor as a purely natural language phenomenon. Their understanding of metaphor brought the metaphor to the sphere of thought and action, which determines its role in the formation of the conceptual system [Johnson, Lakoff, 2003, p. 4].

Our concepts structure our feelings, behavior, our attitude to other people. The existence of metaphors in language is determined by the conceptual system of an individual. In modern cognitive linguistics, metaphor is understood as “the basic mental operation, a way of knowing, categorizing, conceptualizing, evaluating and explaining the world” [Будаев 2007, p. 16].

A more radical, but equally interesting, idea was that of P. Ricoeur, who believed that metaphor was aimed at “breaking the existing categorization” [Рикер 1990, p. 442].

“Any category is a label,” writes Nick Owen, “and any label, though easy to use, is a limitation” [Оуєн 2002, p. 36].

After all, the creative aspect of metaphor and its often unexpected variability cannot be confined to any boundaries and guided by clear rules.

Earl McCormack believed that for creating a metaphor, a human mind compares semantic conceptsthatarelargelyincomparable[МакКормак1990,p.359].Butthesimilarityofthese concepts acts as a mechanism of rapprochement that reveals the generic closeness of heterogeneous concepts or ideas [Рикер 1990, p. 420].

To create a metaphor, it is necessary to preserve the original incompatibility through new compatibility [Рикер 1990, p. 422]. As P. Ricoeur himself suggests in most of the fairy tales of Mallorca's inhabitants begin with the sentence “It was and it was not,” which very accurately describes the ambiguous nature of the metaphor [Рикер 1990, p. 426].

The followers of the reflexive idea have deepened their knowledge about the metaphor, insisting that a special process is needed to create the metaphor, through which conceptual transference takes place. This process was called “reflection”.

In general, reflection refers to the ability of a person to take a different position, to rise above the position of others and his own. Using reflection and a systematic approach, a person can carry out the analysis and synthesis of diverse processes [Козлова 1997, p. 112].

In order to give the metaphor of the nature of the “riddle”, its creator must go through three stages: pulling away, association and finally the creation of the metaphor itself. The process of detachment separates the object from its meaning, pulls it out of its original context. At the same time, associations and comparisons begin to work, leading to the final stage of metaphor formation. The very reflection lies in this pulling away [Родари 1978, p. 56].

Metaphors, viewed from inside of a person, function as cognitive processes that deepen the understanding of the outside world. And they simultaneously act as intermediaries between the human mind and culture, if consider them from the outside.

E. McCormack identified three levels of metaphor generation:

1 - Superficial language; 2 - Semantics and syntax; 3 - Cognition [МакКормак 1990, p. 359].

The cognitive process provides the organization of these levels and separates the literal language from the metaphorical one. Literal language is a general background that allows you to partially judge the meaning of a metaphor. According to this idea, a metaphor is the result of the influence of individual creativity on the formal semantic structure. The conceptual process that gives rise to a metaphor recognizes both similar properties on which the anomaly is based and on the dissimilar ones on which the semantic anomaly is based [МакКормак 1990, p. 360].

Philip Wheelwright underlined the existence of two types of metaphors - epiphora (metaphor in which the expressive function prevails over the suggestive) and diaphora (in which the suggestive function prevails) [Уилрайт 1990, p. 83].

Each metaphor has both components. But in the course of their existence and development, they can change their status, and epiphoras, in general, turn into everyday language, becoming “blurred metaphors”.

This leads us to the thought that metaphor exists as an interconnected dynamic cognitive process that changes language and writing and changes itself as they evolve. In this situation, we agree with the opinion of Philip Wilright, who emphasizes that -phora (movement) in metaphor means a semantic movement - a double act of dissemination and consolidation that occurs in the imagination of a person [Уилрайт 1990, p. 83].

Conclusions and Perspectives

In view of the definition of cognitive science, given at the beginning of the article, knowledge is acquired through the help of cognitive schemas (maps) used by a person to acquire something new, the process of this thinking takes place on the basis of associations, i.e. through objective or sub objective similarity between things themselves. Metaphor changes the way we perceive the surrounding reality, allowing us to look at things in a new way. Interest in metaphor has been constantly growing during the three centuries. The question of its nature will be relevant for as long as it does not solve the riddle of cognitive processes in the human brain, connection with the conscious / subconscious and their verbalization. In addition, cognitive metaphor research, based on the function of metaphor to separate and explain an object or idea from the point of view of another object or idea, enables one to use the experience and knowledge gained in one industry to solve problems in another.

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