KNOWLEDGE

METAPHORS

Prof.Dr.Dr. Dr.H.C. Constantin BratianuUNESCO 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.

Past

Future

Time observer metaphor

Event 1

Event 2

Event 3

The observer

is moving

I shall come to you next week.

Past

Future

Time observer metaphor

Event 1

Event 2

Event 3

Time is moving

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

Knowledge as an object

Locate knowledge

Recognize knowledge

Move knowledge

Exchange knowledge

Knowledge as a resource

Gather knowledge

Store knowledge

Distribute knowledge

K STUFF

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

Knowledge as a thing that can be controlled and manipulated

Knowledge as information that can be codified, stored, accessed

and used

Knowledge as resource that can be created, stored, shared,

located, or moved, and that is

part of the input-throughput-

output system of the organization

Knowledge as capital that can be valued, capitalized and

measured; that is part of the

financial flow and requires an

return on investment

Dominant view in the East

Knowledge as spirit and wisdom

Knowledge as unfolding truth

Unity of universe and human self

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

Mapping from source to target

Source

Domain

(Space)

Target

Domain

(Time)

Characteristics

of source domain not

used for target domain

Characteristics

of target domain

not covered by source

domain

metaphorical

entailments

Tangibility Continuum Intangibility

Mapping from source to target

Source

Domain

Target

Domainmetaphorical

entailments

Objects 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!