Philosophy In The Flesh by George Lakoff

Philosophy In The Flesh by George Lakoff

Author:George Lakoff [Lakoff, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2008-08-08T14:38:00+00:00


THE FAMILY OF MAN METAPHOR

Since the metaphor projects family moral structure onto a universal moral structure, the moral obligations toward family members are transformed into universal moral obligations toward all human beings. Just as each child in the family is subject to the same moral authority and moral laws, so each person in the world is subject to the same moral authority and moral laws. Just as each family member is responsible for nurturing every other family member, so every person is obliged to nurture every other.

The Family of Man metaphor is so general that it does not specify exactly how we ought to behave. It only generates specific moral duties when the "family morality" side of the mapping is filled in by a specific model of the family, either the Strict Father or the Nurturant Parent.

What the Family of Man metaphor does is to provide the crucial step for moving out of the family to a universal morality. The question then becomes whether our universal moral scheme will be understood metaphorically as a Strict Father morality or a Nurturant Parent morality. Before we examine the basic outline of each of these two models, we first need to understand the range of candidates available to fill the slot of the metaphorical Father in either model.

Who Is the Parent?

In the Family of Man, who is the parent? The answer to this question determines the nature of one's ultimate view of moral authority. Typical candidates for the role of universal parent are God, Universal Reason, Universal Moral Feeling, and Society as a whole.



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