The Burden of Bad Metaphors: Putting Blinders on how we Think about Gun Violence

Abstract

There have been many calls for physicians to enter the political discourse on gun control by viewing “gun violence” as a “disease.” The medical metaphor for social problems is seductive, but has many pitfalls. Studies have shown that metaphors create significant cognitive bias regarding both the perception of the problem and can dictate the solutions that are considered. It creates an authoritarian approach to social problems that can have severe negative consequences. These problems have appeared in the use of the metaphor of “gun violence as disease.” Adherence to this metaphor has resulted in the substitution of advocacy for academic integrity and has damaged the credibility of the medical community.