The Metaphoric Foundation of Literal Language

Abstract

Metaphor had typically been understood as a rhetorical device which was a sometimes useful but dispensable trope. In the last two decades, however, attention has focused on the function of metaphor and its relation to concepts. Metaphoric language has been set in opposition to literal language, on which it seemed to depend. In contrast to this view, the thesis of the following paper suggests instead that metaphor is the foundation of literal language, and that it is ubiquitous in the formation of psychological constructs. Psychological description ultimately confronts problems of a rhetorical sort. A particular problem arises when reified constructs create potential limitations in psychological description. Especially in regard to human phenomena, reification of constructs can be misleading, if not dangerous. Perhaps a means of avoiding the pitfalls of reification is to identify the ways in which it occurs. The following paper suggests that a process of what might be called literalization contributes to reification, and attempts to identify a means of reification of psychological constructs in the movement from metaphoric to literal meanings.