Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

structures or patterns that “allow us to do much more than just orient concepts, refer
to them, quantify them, etc., as we do with simple orientational and ontological
metaphors; they allow us, in addition, to use one highly structured and clearly
delineated concept to structure another” (Lakoff and Johson 1980, p. 61). As when the
complex target domain ‘love’ is structured by rich and complex source domains like
‘war’ or ‘magic’.
The basic elements of the theory are based on the study of conventional metaphors.
However, Lakoff and Johnson also include new metaphors in their theory, their
example being the complex structural metaphor ‘Love is a collaborative work of art”
(p. 139ff). After an analysis of what is highlighted and hidden in this metaphor the
authors conclude: “New metaphors have the power to create a new reality. This can
begin to happen when we start to comprehend our experience in terms of a metaphor,
and it becomes a deeper reality when we begin to act in terms of it. If a new metaphor
enters the conceptual system that we base our actions on, it will alter that conceptual
system and the perceptions and actions that the system gives rise to.” (p. 145).
From Lakoff and Johnson’s first book the theory of metaphor developed to embrace a
whole theory of cognition. Fundamental to the theory is the distinction between
conceptual and linguistic metaphors, and the concept of image schemata developed by
Johnson (1987).
A conceptual metaphor is a non-verbal cognitive mapping between two different
domains, while a linguistic metaphor is a verbal expression of such a mapping. 8
Johnson’s concept of image schemata can be used to explain how the metaphorical
meaning created through cross-domain mapping is grounded, not in language but in
repeated patterns of bodily experience. The schema connects a vast range of related
bodily experiences manifesting the same structure, e.g. verticality (up-down), part-
whole, source-path-goal, the container etc. (Johnson 1987). These schemas are
invoked by conceptual metaphors related to the specific schema and serve as “a
source domain through which to structure target domains such as emotions,
consciousness, health, and musical pitch.” (Zbikowski 1998).
8 This distinction is a parallel to the distinction of image and metaphor suggested in section 3.7.4.
43