Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s <i>Nature and The Over-Soul</i>

Saurabh Ranjan Baral

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul

Saurabh Ranjan Baral

Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 1, Issue 4)

Received: 31 August 2016 Accepted: 16 November 2016 Published: 17 December 2016

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Abstract

The centrality of science to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s inherently transcendental way of comprehending the universal macrocosm and microcosm is evident. Transcendental essays of his abound in scientific metaphors, which still remain un-revisited in terms of their functions. This paper ventures examining them from the cognitive perspectives of the latest monolithic developments of conceptual approaches to metaphorology. Hence upon realization of the advent of a new cognitive paradigm created by science in the mid-late twentieth century, long after the death of Emerson, this paper throughout applies the idea of Experientialist Philosophy of Metaphor to offer an experientialist account of Emerson’s use of metaphor in his two essays, “Nature” and “The Over-Soul”. This exposition reflects that Emerson’s use of scientific metaphors helped him to develop what the author calls “scientific idealism” which subsequently led him to transcendentalism. The paper posits that Emerson gave a cognitive twist to the scientific truth and provided a new order to the latter in his move to justify transcendental ideals surrounding, human beings, nature and God and their interrelationship. In so doing he appears to have exhibited the synthesis of reason and understanding. In other words, his use of metaphors is neither strictly objective nor subjective, but secondarily experiential, which involves union of embodied reasoning and observation, characteristic of scientific epistemology in general and Johnsonian-Lakoffian Experientialist Philosophy in particular. The significance of this study lies in its revelation of new dimension of truth and reality as elucidated by his use of scientific metaphors. This exposition attaches novelty at a time when cognitive metaphor has been immensely considered to play a significant role in cognizing “Nature” and the place of man in it.

Published in	English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 1, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11
Page(s)	40-48
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Experientialist Philosophy, Cognitive Metaphor, Imaginative Rationality, Transcendentalism, Source-Path-Goal Image-Schema

References

[1]	Walls, L. D. (2003). Emerson's life in science: the culture of truth. Cornell University Press.
[2]	Klein, L. F. (2010). The 'Emerson museum' and the Darwin exhibit: Observation, classification and display in the early works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Darwin. Victorian Network.
[3]	Emerson, R. W. (1844-1930). Nature: addresses and lectures (Vol. 1). Houghton, Mifflin, pp. 1-470.
[4]	Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago press.
[5]	Johnson, M. &Lakoff, G. (1992). Experientialist philosophy: Philosophy in the age of cognitive science. WordPress.com.
[6]	Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In Ortony, A. (Ed.), Metaphor and Thought (2nd ed., pp 202-251). New York: Cambridge University Press.
[7]	Kovecses, Z. (2010). Metaphor – A practical introduction (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[8]	Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the flesh: The embodied mind and its challenge to western thought. Basic books.
[9]	Doll, W. E., Jr. (1993). A post-modern perspective on curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.
[10]	Anderson, R. L. (2015). The poverty of conceptual truth Kant's analytic/synthetic distinction and the limits of metaphysics. Oxford University Press, USA.
[11]	Waxman, W. (2013). Kant's anatomy of the intelligent mind. Oxford University Press.
[12]	Tolosa, B. R. (2004). A cognitive experientialist approach to a dramatic text: King Lear's conceptual universe (Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Alicante).
[13]	Falcon, A. (2005). Aristotle and the science of nature: unity without uniformity. Cambridge University Press.
[14]	Tindol, R. (2011). The function of scientific metaphor in Thoreau's Walden. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (3), (1).
[15]	Emerson, R. W. (1844). The complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Essays. 1st series [Vol. 2] Boston; NewYork: Houghton, Mifflin, [1903-1904].
[16]	Haitos, A and Streahle, D. (2010). "Metaphor and science" http://preserve.lehigh.edu/cas-lehighreview-vol-18/20.
[17]	Liebig, J. Animal Chemistry: or chemistry in its applications to physiology and pathology. 2nd ed. Trans. William Gregory. London: Taylor & Walton, 1843.
[18]	Obuchowski, Peter A. (2005). Emerson and Science: Goethe, Monism and the search for unity. LindisfarneBooks.
[19]	Windolph, C. J. (2007). Emerson's Nonlinear Nature. University of Missouri Press.
[20]	Wilson, E. (1999). Emerson's sublime science: Romanticism in perspective: Texts, cultures, histories. Palgrave Macmillan UK.

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Saurabh Ranjan Baral. (2016). Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul. English Language, Literature & Culture, 1(4), 40-48. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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Saurabh Ranjan Baral. Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2016, 1(4), 40-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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Saurabh Ranjan Baral. Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2016;1(4):40-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11,
  author = {Saurabh Ranjan Baral},
  title = {Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul},
  journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {1},
  number = {4},
  pages = {40-48},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20160104.11},
  abstract = {The centrality of science to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s inherently transcendental way of comprehending the universal macrocosm and microcosm is evident. Transcendental essays of his abound in scientific metaphors, which still remain un-revisited in terms of their functions. This paper ventures examining them from the cognitive perspectives of the latest monolithic developments of conceptual approaches to metaphorology. Hence upon realization of the advent of a new cognitive paradigm created by science in the mid-late twentieth century, long after the death of Emerson, this paper throughout applies the idea of Experientialist Philosophy of Metaphor to offer an experientialist account of Emerson’s use of metaphor in his two essays, “Nature” and “The Over-Soul”. This exposition reflects that Emerson’s use of scientific metaphors helped him to develop what the author calls “scientific idealism” which subsequently led him to transcendentalism. The paper posits that Emerson gave a cognitive twist to the scientific truth and provided a new order to the latter in his move to justify transcendental ideals surrounding, human beings, nature and God and their interrelationship. In so doing he appears to have exhibited the synthesis of reason and understanding. In other words, his use of metaphors is neither strictly objective nor subjective, but secondarily experiential, which involves union of embodied reasoning and observation, characteristic of scientific epistemology in general and Johnsonian-Lakoffian Experientialist Philosophy in particular. The significance of this study lies in its revelation of new dimension of truth and reality as elucidated by his use of scientific metaphors. This exposition attaches novelty at a time when cognitive metaphor has been immensely considered to play a significant role in cognizing “Nature” and the place of man in it.},
 year = {2016}
}

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AB  - The centrality of science to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s inherently transcendental way of comprehending the universal macrocosm and microcosm is evident. Transcendental essays of his abound in scientific metaphors, which still remain un-revisited in terms of their functions. This paper ventures examining them from the cognitive perspectives of the latest monolithic developments of conceptual approaches to metaphorology. Hence upon realization of the advent of a new cognitive paradigm created by science in the mid-late twentieth century, long after the death of Emerson, this paper throughout applies the idea of Experientialist Philosophy of Metaphor to offer an experientialist account of Emerson’s use of metaphor in his two essays, “Nature” and “The Over-Soul”. This exposition reflects that Emerson’s use of scientific metaphors helped him to develop what the author calls “scientific idealism” which subsequently led him to transcendentalism. The paper posits that Emerson gave a cognitive twist to the scientific truth and provided a new order to the latter in his move to justify transcendental ideals surrounding, human beings, nature and God and their interrelationship. In so doing he appears to have exhibited the synthesis of reason and understanding. In other words, his use of metaphors is neither strictly objective nor subjective, but secondarily experiential, which involves union of embodied reasoning and observation, characteristic of scientific epistemology in general and Johnsonian-Lakoffian Experientialist Philosophy in particular. The significance of this study lies in its revelation of new dimension of truth and reality as elucidated by his use of scientific metaphors. This exposition attaches novelty at a time when cognitive metaphor has been immensely considered to play a significant role in cognizing “Nature” and the place of man in it.
VL  - 1
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Saurabh Ranjan Baral

Department of Language and Literature, Singhania University, Rajasthan, India

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Saurabh Ranjan Baral. (2016). Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul. English Language, Literature & Culture, 1(4), 40-48. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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Saurabh Ranjan Baral. Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2016, 1(4), 40-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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AMA Style

Saurabh Ranjan Baral. Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2016;1(4):40-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11,
  author = {Saurabh Ranjan Baral},
  title = {Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul},
  journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {1},
  number = {4},
  pages = {40-48},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20160104.11},
  abstract = {The centrality of science to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s inherently transcendental way of comprehending the universal macrocosm and microcosm is evident. Transcendental essays of his abound in scientific metaphors, which still remain un-revisited in terms of their functions. This paper ventures examining them from the cognitive perspectives of the latest monolithic developments of conceptual approaches to metaphorology. Hence upon realization of the advent of a new cognitive paradigm created by science in the mid-late twentieth century, long after the death of Emerson, this paper throughout applies the idea of Experientialist Philosophy of Metaphor to offer an experientialist account of Emerson’s use of metaphor in his two essays, “Nature” and “The Over-Soul”. This exposition reflects that Emerson’s use of scientific metaphors helped him to develop what the author calls “scientific idealism” which subsequently led him to transcendentalism. The paper posits that Emerson gave a cognitive twist to the scientific truth and provided a new order to the latter in his move to justify transcendental ideals surrounding, human beings, nature and God and their interrelationship. In so doing he appears to have exhibited the synthesis of reason and understanding. In other words, his use of metaphors is neither strictly objective nor subjective, but secondarily experiential, which involves union of embodied reasoning and observation, characteristic of scientific epistemology in general and Johnsonian-Lakoffian Experientialist Philosophy in particular. The significance of this study lies in its revelation of new dimension of truth and reality as elucidated by his use of scientific metaphors. This exposition attaches novelty at a time when cognitive metaphor has been immensely considered to play a significant role in cognizing “Nature” and the place of man in it.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Eyeballs, Circles and Rotations: Use of Scientific Metaphors in Emerson’s Nature and The Over-Soul
AU  - Saurabh Ranjan Baral
Y1  - 2016/12/17
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11
T2  - English Language, Literature & Culture
JF  - English Language, Literature & Culture
JO  - English Language, Literature & Culture
SP  - 40
EP  - 48
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-2413
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.11
AB  - The centrality of science to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s inherently transcendental way of comprehending the universal macrocosm and microcosm is evident. Transcendental essays of his abound in scientific metaphors, which still remain un-revisited in terms of their functions. This paper ventures examining them from the cognitive perspectives of the latest monolithic developments of conceptual approaches to metaphorology. Hence upon realization of the advent of a new cognitive paradigm created by science in the mid-late twentieth century, long after the death of Emerson, this paper throughout applies the idea of Experientialist Philosophy of Metaphor to offer an experientialist account of Emerson’s use of metaphor in his two essays, “Nature” and “The Over-Soul”. This exposition reflects that Emerson’s use of scientific metaphors helped him to develop what the author calls “scientific idealism” which subsequently led him to transcendentalism. The paper posits that Emerson gave a cognitive twist to the scientific truth and provided a new order to the latter in his move to justify transcendental ideals surrounding, human beings, nature and God and their interrelationship. In so doing he appears to have exhibited the synthesis of reason and understanding. In other words, his use of metaphors is neither strictly objective nor subjective, but secondarily experiential, which involves union of embodied reasoning and observation, characteristic of scientific epistemology in general and Johnsonian-Lakoffian Experientialist Philosophy in particular. The significance of this study lies in its revelation of new dimension of truth and reality as elucidated by his use of scientific metaphors. This exposition attaches novelty at a time when cognitive metaphor has been immensely considered to play a significant role in cognizing “Nature” and the place of man in it.
VL  - 1
IS  - 4
ER  -

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