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novabird's review against another edition
4.0
Take away --- there is no real disembodied anything. Everything is connected thru landscapes of meaning/metaphor.
davegri's review against another edition
5.0
I almost rated it 4 stars because at times I found it three-quarters-baked, a bit over-general, and not entirely convincing. But taking into account the enormous scope and ambition of the book, which is actually quite awe-inspiring, I've decided to go for 5. The central thesis is both fascinating and has far reaching implications. It's a bit of a slog at times, but worth it!
razumau's review against another edition
2.0
Some chapters are frustratingly almost correct, some are just godawful (no, you can’t say that since models are like metaphors, mathematics is of no use; and no, a 20-page rant about incorrect models leading to environmetal issues and wars in Iraq doesn’t make all the rational philosophy irrelevant). In the end, the main issue is that “it seems like we think using metaphors” is not equivalent to “metaphors are the only way of thinking and getting results.”
simazhi's review against another edition
5.0
Philosophy in the Flesh and Embodiment in the Book.
I think Western philosophy would indeed look very differently if they reapproached it with scientific insights made since the latter half of the 20th century. The book is dense and is not for beginners, and may even warrant a second read, but the pay-off is very great.
I think Western philosophy would indeed look very differently if they reapproached it with scientific insights made since the latter half of the 20th century. The book is dense and is not for beginners, and may even warrant a second read, but the pay-off is very great.
galateadoesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing. Provides a good basis for the argument that the majority of our abstract thought and arguments are rooted in basic conceptual metaphors, which are themselves rooted in sensorimotor data. One of the best books I've ever read, and a groundbreaking work in philosophy and cognitive science.
jade_fangurl93's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Extensive research, some parts could have been more concise, and i would have appreciated a more thoughtful application of the word 'normal'
lisarue's review
4.0
Philosophy in the Flesh is the cooperative effort of a cognitive psychologist and a philosopher. It begins by introducing modern cognitive psychology, and explaining how it is much more experiment-based than the previous generation of psychological explanation. This is followed by an overview, with examples, of many of the metaphors that dominate our lives: viewing time as a stream, viewing goals as places to go to, and so on.
The second half of the book, roughly, discusses various Western philosophical positions in light of the metaphors that ground those positions. This is where the book gets much more speculative as far as I can tell, because the only sources for what metaphors were in Aristotle's head are his writings, we can't experiment on him!
Within this second half of the book, there is a discussion on religion and the metaphors underlying various forms of Christianity specifically. This is a very trendy topic these days and could be the subject of an entire book to itself. The main metaphor raised is whether God and society are modeled as a strict father vs. a nurturant parent. It's clear which model the authors prefer, for religion as well as for public morality outside of religion.
This kind of information, model and analysis is definitely a good tool for thinking about how people think. I'm sure I'll be obsessed with this for quite a while as I practice applying metaphorical analysis to language and ideas.
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