(and Howard Lindstone)
George Lakoff’s work explores how human cognition is fundamentally shaped by conceptual metaphors and mental frames derived from bodily experience. These texts argue that metaphor is not merely a linguistic flourish but a primary tool for reasoning, influencing fields as diverse as mathematics, linguistics, and political strategy. In politics, Lakoff demonstrates how conservative and progressive worldviews are rooted in conflicting family models, suggesting that “frames trump facts” because people process information through these deep-seated moral structures. His research into mathematics challenges the idea of “disembodied” numbers, posits that even complex equations are built upon embodied experiences such as movement and containment. By examining prototype theory and radial categories, Lakoff reveals that human thought is largely unconscious and organized by associative links rather than rigid logic. Ultimately, these sources advocate for a New Enlightenment that recognizes the neural and metaphorical foundations of the human mind to better navigate social and scientific reality.
Sources
• Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, George Lakoff, Chelsea Green Publishing, ISBN: 1-931498-71-7, www.chelseagreen.com[1][2] • Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN: 0-226-46801-1[3][4] • The Political Mind: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Your Brain and Its Politics, George Lakoff, Penguin Books, ISBN: 978-0-14-311568-7, www.penguin.com[5][6] • Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind, George Lakoff, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN: 0-226-46804-6[7][8] • Where Mathematics Comes From: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics into Being, George Lakoff and Rafael E. Núñez, Basic Books, ISBN: 978-0-465-03771-1