Metaphorical hermeneutics. Metaphor, domains and embodiment

Abstract

In metaphor studies the issue of the “grounding” of metaphorical meaning alls forth the majority of philosophical issues related to domains and the way they anchor the world or claim to function as the ground for meaning. Lakoff and Johnson`s conceptual metaphor theory provides the parameters for the analysis of this problem. In order to pre- vent the possible negative role of subjectivism and materialism in the ontological ground- ing of metaphor, I propose that metaphorical meaning and conceptual metaphor requires a stratified ontology and anthropology. This proposal implies that there is a correlation between the structure of human experience and the structure of the world in which it func- tions. The term structure provides a significant key to the correlation.