The Power of Metaphors

Metaphors matter. A lot. Paul H. Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky argue that metaphors influence how we think about a problem, and even how we assess data. Metaphors are thus very powerful.

Literature, of course, makes strong use of metaphor, both as figurative speech and in the works themselves (Kafka's works in particular exemplify the latter). If metaphors affect us as deeply as Thibodeau and Boroditsky suggest, then literature in particular is a very powerful element in our lives. And this puts a lot of power -- and responsibility -- in the hands of literary artists.

How might literary writers in fact affect a nation's discourse about problems through their choices of metaphors? How might speech-makers and other rhetoricians? What potential good -- and what potential dangers -- does this pose for us? Alas, changing one's metaphors may change the way one assesses the data -- but it has no effect on reality itself, including many aspects of social reality. At its worse, a metaphor may simply get us to accept something that is harmful to us socially. At its best a metaphor helps us to better understand reality, including social reality. The difficulty lies in always knowing which is which.

In any case, this seems a prime thing literary scholars could investigate. One could trace the origins and uses of particular metaphors, how the affect our thinking, our discussions, our analysis of data. Any literary scholar doing such genealogical work would be doing important work indeed.