Concepts We Live By

Jordan Erekson

Humanities 1100

CONCPTS WE LIVE BY

The general argument/ point made by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their work is that of the concepts that we live by. More specifically, Lakoff and Johnson argue/suggest that the concepts that govern our thoughts are not just matters of the intellect. They write “The concepts that govern our thoughts are not just matters of the intellect. They also govern our everyday functioning, down to the msot mundane details. Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to other people.” (page 61). In this passage, Lakoff and Jonson suggest that our conceptual system is not something we are normally aware of. In conclusion, it is Lakoff and Johnson's belief that communication is based on the same conceptual system that we use in thinking and acting, language is an important source of evidence for what that system is like.

In my view, Lakoff and Johnson are right because the concepts that they talk about are the ones that we truly do live by. We follow them and there patterns in our everyday life. For example, They talked about how argument is war. How we follow the same guidelines when we are in an argument of our own. Although Lakoff and Johnson might object that not everybody uses the same patterns and gidlines when in an argument they are about the same. I maintain that people, when arguing do follow those guidelines and argue all in the same patterns as others. Therefore, I conclude that if we do try to follow these concepts it will make our lives easier and much more simple.