Metaphor, Metaphor Schemata, and Selective Inferencing

Abstract

The importance of spatial and other metaphors is demonstrated. An approach to handling metaphor in a computational framework is described, based on the idea of selective inferencing. Three examples of metaphors are examined in detail in this light–a simple metaphor, a spatial metaphor schema, and a novel metaphor. Finally, there is a discussion, from this perspective, of the analogical processes that underlie metaphor in this approach and what the approach says about several classical questions about metaphor.