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George Lakoff

George Lakoff Quotes

Linguist

George Lakoff, born on May 24, 1941, is an American cognitive linguist. His research focuses on the relationship between language and thought, and he has made significant contributions to the field of linguistics with his theories on cognitive linguistics.

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Famous George Lakoff Quotes

“The properties of mind are not purely mental: They are shaped in crucial ways by the body and brain and how the body can function in everyday life. The embodied mind is thus very much of this world. Our flesh is inseparable from what Merleau-Ponty called the "flesh of the world" and what David Abram refers to as "the-more-than-human-world." Our body is intimately tied to what we walk on, sit on, touch, taste, smell, see, breathe, and move within. Our corporeality is part of the corporeality of the world.”

Mind Body Holism Embodied Mind Mind World Relation Relational Identity

Book:Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought

Source: Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought

“The mind is inherently embodied. Thought is mostly unconscious. Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical.”

Mind Philosophy Body Concepts Medicine Senses Abstract Unconscious Metaphorical Soma

Book:Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought

Source: Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought

“Do we really think that the United States will have the protection of innocent Afghans in mind if it rains terror down on the Afghan infrastructure? We are supposedly fighting them because they immorally killed innocent civilians. That made them evil. If we do the same, are we any less immoral?”

Ifs Thinking Mind Made States Fighting Evil United United States Rain Terror Protection Innocent Immoral Infrastructure Civilians Afghan

Author:George Lakoff

“For centuries, we in the West have thought of ourselves as rational animals whose mental capacities transcend our bodily nature. In this traditional view our minds are abstract, logical, unemotionally rational, consciously accessible, and, above all, able to directly fit and represent the world. Language has a special place in thie view of what a human is - it is a privileged, logical symbol system internal to our minds that transparently expresses abstract concepts that are defined in terms of the external world itself.”

World Mind Humans Able Language Term Animal Views Special Century Fit Concepts Capacity West Rational Traditional Symbols Defined Abstract Internals Logical Annoying Privileged Special Places

Author:George Lakoff

“If we are to know ourselves, philosophy needs to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the sciences of mind.”

Ifs Knows Needs Mind Philosophy Dialogue Ongoing Science Of Mind

Book:Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought

Source: Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought

“Holding onto and manipulating physical objects is one of the things we learn earliest and do the most. It should not be surprising that object control is the basis of one of the five most fundamental metaphors for our inner life. To control objects, we must learn to control our bodies. We learn both forms of control together. Self-control and object control are inseparable experiences from earliest childhood. It is no surprise that we should have as a metaphor-a primary metaphor-Self Control is Object Control.”