KNOWLEDGE

METAPHORS
Prof.Dr.Dr. Dr.H.C. Constantin Bratianu
UNESCO Department for Business Administration
Faculty of Business Administration
Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Philosophy in the flesh. The embodied mind and its

challenge to Western thought
(George Lakoff & Mark Johnson, 1999)
The mind is inherently embodied.
Thought is mostly unconscious.
Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical.

These are three major findings of cognitive science.

More than two millenia of a priori philosophical
speculation about these aspects of reason are over.
Because of these discoveries, philosophy can never
be the same again.

Philosophy in the flesh. The embodied mind and its

challenge to Western thought
(George Lakoff & Mark Johnson, 1999)
Our most basic philosophical beliefs are tied
inextricably to our view of reason.
Reason has been taken for over two millenia as the
defining characteristic of human being.
Reason is not completed conscious.
Reason is not purely literal, but largely metaphorical
and imaginative.
Reason is not dispassionate, but emotionally
engaged.

METAPHORS
For many people, a metaphor is a matter of language
rather than thought and action.
Research demonstrates the contrary, that metaphor is
pervasive in everyday life.
Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we
both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in
nature.
But our conceptual system is not something we are
normally aware of.

The essence of a metaphor is understanding

and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of
another

The fact that abstract thought is mostly

metaphorical means that answers to
philosophical questions have always
been, and always will be, mostly
metaphorical.
In itself, that is neither good nor bad. It is
simply a fact about the capacities of the
human mind.

Metaphors

ARGUMENT IS WAR

He attacked every weak point in my argument

I demolished his argument
I have never won an argument with him
If you use that strategy, he will wipe you out
He shot down all of my arguments
His criticisms were right on target
Your claims are indefensible

ARGUMENT IS WAR
Argument is not a subset of the concept of war.
Arguments and wars are different kinds of things
verbal discourse and armed conflict.
But ARGUMENT is partially structured, understood,
performed, and talked about in terms of WAR.
The concept of ARGUMENT is metaphorically
structured, the activity is metaphorically structured,
and consequently, the language is metaphorically
structured

TIME IS MONEY

You are wasting my time

This gadget will save you hours
I dont have the time to give you
How do you spend your time these days?
That flat tire cost me an hour
You need to budget your time
You dont use your time profitably
I lost a lot of time when I got sick
You are running out of time

TIME IS MONEY
Time in our culture is a valuable commodity.
It is a limited resource that we use to accomplish our
goals.
Work is associated in modern times with time, and time
can be measured precisely.
Thus, work output is associated with the working time,
and finally the work is paid according to the time spent
for doing that work.
In a quite natural way time is metaphorically
understood in terms of money.

Time observer metaphor

Future

The observer
is moving
Event 3

Event 2
Event 1
Past
I shall come to you next week.

Time observer metaphor

Future

Time is moving
Event 3

Event 2
Event 1
Past
Time flies by
Time for action has arrived

On the metaphorical nature of intellectual capital: a

textual analysis
(Daniel Andriessen, Journal of IC, 7(1), 2006)

Knowledge is an abstract concept. It has no referent in

the real world. We use metaphor to map elements of
things we are familiar with in the real world onto the
concept of knowledge to make it comprehensible.
Knowledge is not a concept that has a clearly
delineated structure. Whatever structure it has it
gets through metaphor.

Knowledge as Objects

Using Knowledge Metaphors

The idea of dealing with knowledge as an object has
been exploited in a variety of areas across KM and
information technology (Borgo & Pozza, 2012)

A somewhat less structured form of accumulated

knowledge is the discussion database, in which
participants record their own experience on an issue
and react to others comments (Davenport & Prusak,
2000)
If we would understand how we build knowledge,
than we must understand our own purposes (Allee,
1997).

KNOWLEDGE AS STUFF
K

FF

STU
Knowledge as an object

Knowledge as a resource

Locate knowledge

Gather knowledge

Recognize knowledge

Store knowledge

Move knowledge

Distribute knowledge

Exchange knowledge

Knowledge as capital
Value knowledge

Invest knowledge

Knowledge as Flows

Using Knowledge Metaphors

The way knowledge flows in organizations is often a
hidden process (O Dell & Hubert)
With the wider view I am taking, I claim that
managing knowledge flows is something that can be
applied and used in almost any type or organization
(Leistner, 2010)
So flow of knowledge from individuals depend on
three broad factors: individual preferences, the
social situation and organizational factors (Oliver,
2013)

To the extent that organizational knowledge does

not exist in the form needed for application or at
the place and time required to enable work
performance, then it must flow from how it exists
and where it is located to how and where it is
needed. This is the concept knowledge flows.
Nissen, M.E. (2006) Harnessing Knowledge
Dynamics, p. xx

Dominant view in the West

Dominant view in the East

Knowledge as a thing that can be

controlled and manipulated

Knowledge as spirit and

wisdom

Knowledge as information that

can be codified, stored, accessed
and used

Knowledge as unfolding truth

Unity of universe and human

self

Knowledge as resource that can

be created, stored, shared,
located, or moved, and that is
part of the input-throughputoutput system of the organization

Unity of knowledge and

action

Knowledge as illumination or
enlightenment of an
underlying, deeper reality

Knowledge as essence-less
and nothingness (Japan)

Knowledge creation as a
continuous, self-transcending
process

Knowledge as capital that can be

valued, capitalized and
measured; that is part of the
financial flow and requires an
return on investment

Mapping from source to target

Source
Domain
(Space)

metaphorical
entailments

Characteristics
of source domain not
used for target domain

Tangibility

Continuum

Target
Domain
(Time)
Characteristics
of target domain
not covered by source
domain

Intangibility

Mapping from source to target

Source
Domain

Objects

metaphorical
entailments

Target
Domain

Knowledge

What can metaphor transfer

Knowledge can be accumulated

Knowledge can be stored
Knowledge can be located
Knowledge can be retrieved
Knowledge can be transferred
Knowledge can be distributed
Knowledge can be packaged

What metaphor cannot transfer

Objects are tangible

Objects can be seen
Objects have a well-defined shape
Object can be measured
Objects can be broken
Objects can be counted
For object we apply linear operations (+, -, x, :)
For object we apply Newtonian laws
Objects can be distributed with the rule of keeping
sum total to be constant

What is specific for knowledge

Knowledge is intangible
Knowledge cannot be seen
Knowledge cannot be measured
Knowledge does not have a well-defined shape
Knowledge cannot be broken
Knowledge is nonlinear
For knowledge we cannot apply linear operations
For knowledge we cannot apply Newtonian laws
Knowledge can be distributed without the rule of
sum total to be constant

Thank you for your attention!