Metaphors are powerful communicative instruments partly because they produce 'framing effects' that go beyond any specific content the speaker claims. These effects are especially obvious, and especially damaging, when the metaphor is an insult, intended to denigrate the hearer or someone associated with him. In this case, merely comprehending the metaphor produces a kind of 'cognitive complicity' that cannot be undone simply by denying the speaker's claim. I explain why metaphors produce these effects, offer suggestions for how to effectively insult your enemies, and suggest how hearers can fight back.
With Liz Camp of the University of Pennsylvania. Camp's research focuses on thoughts and utterances that don’t fit standard propositional models. She is especially interested in cognitive "perspectives", in which one thought structures our overall understanding of a topic in a way that's similar to the way a concept like duck or rabbit can structure our perceptual experience. She's thought most about perspectives in our understanding of metaphor and fiction, but she's also working on their role in emotions and the self. In addition, she is interested in the thought of non-human animals, in thought that takes place in maps rather than sentences, and in sarcasm and slurs.
New York City, NY; NYC