Poetic Metaphors and Embodied Cognition —A Potential Pathway of Mind Development
Abstract
Cognitive poetics theory regards metaphor as a significant mechanism in human unconscious cognitive processes for understanding abstract concepts and phenomena, which constitutes the essence of poetic expression. Poetic metaphors accentuate linguistic expression at the level of pure abstract concepts, transcending experiential and cultural limitations, and emerge as a significant wellspring for unconscious cognition and mind development. However, mind development cannot be exclusively reliant on metaphor, as abstract thinking arises from the interplay between rational agents and the objective external world through embodied cognition. Therefore, poetic metaphors and embodied cognition synergistically constitute a crucial constituent of mind development. This article aims to explicate that poetic metaphors, as a mode of concretely ideologizing through vivid imagery, serve as a vital mechanism for cognitive abstraction, the exploration of mental patterns, and the fostering of mind development. This is accomplished by leveraging bodily experience as a pivotal medium bridging the subject and object, as well as the internal mind and external world, thereby forging a potential pathway of abstract concept, poetic metaphor, embodied cognition, and mind development.
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