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Seeing the Dao: conceptual metaphors and the philosophy of religion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

VICTORIA S. HARRISON
VICTORIA S. HARRISON*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article suggests that different philosophical traditions have developed and matured around particular conceptual metaphors. It proposes that conceptual metaphor theory provides a useful tool with which to think about different world philosophical traditions, as it can reveal the deep structure of networks of ideas. Conceptual metaphors are not just linguistic devices; rather they organize whole networks of thought, experience, and activity. This idea is explored and special attention paid to the role of those conceptual metaphors that structure ways of thinking about knowledge within Western, Indian, and East Asian traditions. The article concludes with some reflections on the implications of this approach for inter-cultural philosophy of religion.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 51 , Special Issue 3: Religious Studies at 50 , September 2015 , pp. 307 - 322
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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