Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things (Paperback)

by George Lakoff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Lakoff reviews a wide range of studies in "cognitive semantics," a new field that attempts to understand mind through empirical studies of the way people categorize. He provides several detailed conceptual "case studies," which aptly bring out the richness of the English language, and Whorfian-type examinations of the way different cultures view the world as exemplified in their language (the book's title derives from a classification in Dyirbal, an aboriginal language of Australia). Though this new "science" is supposed to yield insights more accurate and useful than traditional (i.e., "non-empirical") philosophy, the approach to philosophy here is superficial. For academic linguistics collections. Leon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
"Its publication should be a major event for cognitive linguistics and should pose a major challenge for cognitive science. In addition, it should have repercussions in a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology and psychology to epistemology and the philosophy of science. . . . Lakoff asks: What do categories of language and thought reveal about the human mind? Offering both general theory and minute details, Lakoff shows that categories reveal a great deal."--David E. Leary, American Scientist

Product Details

• Paperback: 632 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (April 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226468046
• ISBN-13: 978-0226468044
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in-depth description of a promising paradigm in linguistics, October 8, 1998

By A Customer

When I read this book for the first time, it was like a revelation - Lakoff concentrates on the way people *really* think, not the way philosophers would like them to. His approach: We use cognitive models that we acquired in childhood to solve almost every problem - to estimate, to schedule, to infer. What strikes me most about the cognitive science of metaphor is the possibility to apply it to many fields like computer interface design, social sciences, linguistics, you name it. His argument is partly very sophisticated, yet understandable also for a non-philosopher, and he comes up with lots of examples and evidence. This book has become a kind of "creativity technique" to me, I find myself developing new ideas based on Lakoff's approach all the time. Among the people who have no scientific interest in the matter, I recommend this book to designers, programmers and everybody in the field of communication. It is worth every minute you read.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new world is only a new mind, May 29, 2006

By	Daniel R. Grünfeld "Daniel" (Illinois, United States) - See all my reviews

I found this to be one of the most interesting books I have ever read. For me it's a revolutionary work in the sense that very rarely do books such as this come into my life -- maybe once every five years -- and have the ability to forever change the way I think about the world. And as with all such important books, it is iconoclastic and will not please everyone. Some will no doubt hate it, but most of the objectivist academics have no doubt long since dismissed it as nonsense. Most assuredly it is not without its faults. For example, Lakoff tends to rail a bit much against what he calls "objectivist" viewpoints (those who espouse some flavor of the correspondence theory of truth), which includes pretty much all of the present day scientific community as well as the majority of Anglo-American analytic philosophers. In addition, the book is admittedly long-winded and a little repetitious in places. By the time I had gotten to the end of the second case study, I was totally burned out and could not continue any further. But it wasn't disenchantment with the book so much as the desire to just move on to something else. I have yet to read the third case study, but I will eventually. In fact, I know that I will come back to this book many times in the future to refer to the numerous insights which lie scattered everywhere throughout the text.

Contrary to what you may have been told, Lakoff is NOT an egotistical academic. He is quick to give credit and praise to others for many or most of the ideas contained in this work. Nor is he vain and arrogant; on occasion he even makes fun of himself. He does not talk down to the reader, but his expectation is that you are able to follow his argument, which is intelligent-undergraduate level. To be sure, he has not tried to water down the ideas to appeal to a wide audience of couch potatoes.

I especially like the format of this book: the larger type is easy on my older eyes; excellent paper quality, generous margins, little or no typos: All make for a first-rate reading experience, a real treat. The generous margins are useful for jotting down quick notes on the side for future reference, as I did repeatedly thoughout this book.

I will end with one example of the many insights that fill this fascinating book: Viewing truth as a radial concept forms the foundation for a mature relativism "Because, as we have seen, truth cannot be characterized as correspondence to a physical reality, we must recognize truth as a human concept, subject to the laws of human thought... There are central and non-central truths. The central truths are characterized in terms of directly understood concepts, concepts that fit the pre-conceptual structure of experience. Such concepts are (a) basic-level concepts in the physical domain, and (b) general schemas emerging from experience...." The fact that there are central truths and non-central truths means that by realizing that the truths we live by are not central, we can gain an appreciation of and respect for the truths others live by.

In summary, this book held my attention for more than 400 pages, was thought-provoking, challenging, rewarding, and one of the most satisfying intellectual experiences I have encountered to date. I strongly recommend it.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars dense but well-worth the effort, August 5, 1998

By A Customer

this book explores the way language is a reflection of the inner workings of the brain. it specifically examines the way we think about grouping things. for instance: should red and orange belong to the super-category "color"? how about lavender? which is the best example of "color"?

as a web designer, i deal constantly with hierarchies and the ways that things are grouped together. this thick tome on cognitive science made me rethink some of my strategies. although dealing with very complex issues and obviously not for casual reading, i really appreciated the way the author delineates his thinking so clearly. one example is that he rarely drops names without explaining in some detail the contributions of the person cited. i ended up xeroxing several sections fo this book for my coworkers.