George Lakoff Quotes

The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.

George Lakoff

Quotes to Explore

One of the things cognitive science teaches us is that when people define their very identity by a worldview, or a narrative, or a mode of thought, they are unlikely to change-for the simple reason that it is physically part of their brain, and so many other aspects of their brain structure would also have to change; that change is highly unlikely.

George Lakoff
- Simple
- Reason
- Identity
Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus plays a central role in defining our everyday realities.

George Lakoff
Unless you frame yourself, others will frame you — the media, your enemies, your competitors, your well-meaning friends.

George Lakoff
- Enemy
- Media
- Competitors
The mind is inherently embodied. Thought is mostly unconscious. Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical.

George Lakoff
Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.

George Lakoff
- Thinking
- Action
- Matter
Liberals have a set of folk theories that are fallacious. One of them comes from the Enlightenment, and the assumption is that you are supposed to be logical. They assume all you have to do is tell people the facts and they will reason to the right conclusion. This is utterly ridiculous. Thought is mainly metaphorical. The frames trump all the facts.

George Lakoff