Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Political Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Chapter 2 starts with a summative view of the central tenets in conceptual metaphor theory and its further developments and lays the foundation for the analytical framework of the research. It is advocated a combination of critical discourse analysis, argumentation theory, and cognitive semantics (conceptual metaphor theory) to account for the production and reconstruction of meaning in political discourse. Insights into transpersonal psychology (Maslow, 1954/1970), social sciences (van Dijk’s theory of ‘contextual models’ (2008)), and neuroscience (Lakoff, 2009) provide further evidence to support metaphor embedding in argumentation and the construction of argumentative patterns. The mental permeability of political discourse stems from its capacity to fit frames, moral frames (Lakoff, 2009: 68), and thereby to narrow or to enlarge the mental void engendered by people’s needs and frustrations. People act according to the category of needs they pursue; thus, Maslow’s needs hierarchy contributes a focus to the value premises of a practical argument.