Reasoning,StatingandUnderstandingWithImages
truthintermsofliteralmeaningandtruth.
(ij)Interaction
Theories
Theliterarytheoristoftheearliestmodern
I.A.Richards(1936),was
tO
thefirst
one
whoadvocatedthat
one
alternatives
thesimiletheorywasthe‘interaction’viewof
metaphor.Suchtheorieshavetwocentral“cognitive
claims:(i)thatmetaphorshave
an
irreducible
content,”and(ii)thatthiscognitivecontent(or“meaning”)is
producedb3,the
the
“interaction”ofdifferentcognitivesystems.Interactionists‘‘cognitivecontents”ofmetaphorsliteralexpression.
ConsideroneofBlack’Sbeing
a
generallyclaimthat
are
can
betrue,eventhoughthey
notamenableto
examples(Black1962)"“Man
is
a
wolf.”Thepropertiesof
are
predator,travelinginpacks:andbeingfierceandruthless
are
allcommonplaces
associatedwith“wolf.:’ThesepropertiesthereforeinstrumentaltOcomprehendingthe
metaphor:they
serveas
the“filter”forthinkingaboutmankind,byemphasizingjust
those
commonplacesof“man’’thatfitwiththem.Themetaphor’S“cognitivecontent’’ormeaningisthedistinctivewayofthinkingaboutmankindthatthisNotice
herethat,“commonplaces’’need
not
filterin喜produces.
be
true.What
mattersisnottheactual
propertiesofthe.those
objects
denoted,or
even
thepropertiesthatspeakersandhearersbelieve
objectstOpossess,butratherwhatthedenotingexpressions“Calltomind.’’
Theinteractiontheory’Scentralmotivationistoaccountfortheapparentfactthat
metaphorsfunction

