The Literary Mind.pdf

BODY ACTION 29
In addition to "event shape," events also have causal structure, which is also
image-schematic. Causation by physical force, for example, is typically understood
through image schemas of force dynamics. When the force of the sledgehammer
causes the door to fall, or a punch causes a boxer to fall, or a gust of
wind topples the tree, we understand all of these events as instances of a particular
image schema of physical force dynamics, which is why we can say of all of
them that the first entity (sledgehammer, boxer, wind) "knocked" the other
entity (door, opponent, tree) "down." Phrases like "The tidal wave swept the
resort away," "The telephone pole crushed the car," "The roof gave in when
the tree fell on it," "The river cut a new path," and similar expressions all portray
causal events through image schemas of physical force dynamics.
Leonard Talmy has shown that image schemas of force dynamics are also
used to structure nonphysical causation, as when we say, "The sight of blood forced
him to run," "His ambition propelled him to excess," or "The committee finally
gave in and collapsed." Causes are often understood by projecting onto them image
schemas of force dynamics.
Some causes are understood by projecting onto them the image schema of
movement along a path. First consider physical causation. A physical event of
movement often involves a change of location. We are in one location, and then
we are in another. The change is caused by our movement along a path. We say,
"The road led us from the mountaintop to the valley floor," and understand it to
mean that first we were in one situation, the mountaintop, and then we were in
a different situation, the valley floor, and that going from one location to the
other constituted a change of situation, and that the cause of this change in situation
was movement along the path. Now consider nonphysical causation. The
image schema of movement along a path can be projected onto nonphysical causation,
as when we say, "The economy sank to its lowest point." The initial situation
(strong economy) is understood by projection from the beginning of the
path, and the final situation (bad economy) is understood by projection from the
endpoint of the path. Both situations are understood by projection from spatial
locations. The causal relation connecting the first situation to the second situation
is understood image-schematically as a path between the first location and
the second. Of course, "path" causation and "force-dynamic" causation usually
go together. In "Fear drove him to a situation he otherwise would have avoided,"
we have both.
We also recognize the elements and parts of an event as standing in certain
relations to each other, such as ability (actors are able to perform actions), obligation
or necessity (a command may require the action), possibility (some condition
may allow the actor to perform the action), and so on. Relations of these
sorts are referred to technically as "modal" structure. These relations too are