Abstract concepts, bodily sensations, metaphors

Assume that the following sentences describe the same experience. Try to say them out loud and notice your inner reaction.

1. when she looks me in the eye and speaks in a high-pitched voice, my whole head starts pounding.

2. I am angry at her attitude.

3. it's like I am the dynamite and she is the detonator.

Example 1 describes one's experience by what one sees, hears, or feels.

Example 2 uses abstract concepts to label (label) experiences.

The experience of reality has a complex gestalt, but it is simplified and expressed in the language of abstract concepts.

He describes this behavior as "labeling".

In other words, the experience is not properly described.

Example 3 is a description using figurative language.

Metaphor and symbol (symbol) are used with the same meaning. Nishio uses "metaphor" because he thinks "symbol" is likely to be interpreted by Japanese readers as "a sign shared with others" rather than "a metaphorical symbol of a personal feeling.

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