Mechanistic Conception of the Human Being: the Machine Metaphor
Mechanistic Conception of the Human Being: the Machine Metaphor

Summary/Abstract: The article reveals the mechanistic conception of the human being based on the conceptual metaphor HUMAN BEING IS A MACHINE, which is widely spread and deeply ingrained in our conceptual system. Metaphorization tendencies are discussed within the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, which proclaims that metaphor is a matter of thought rather than mere language. The corpus-based analysis of metaphoric expressions in Lithuanian and English demonstrates that knowledge about various machines, mechanisms, their structure, principles and characteristics of functioning is mapped on the domain of human beings and thus used to talk and reason about human body, its structure, mind, feelings, emotional states, etc. The article also traces the origin and history of the machine metaphor, focusing on its impact on the development of medical thought and motivation theories.

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