A Cognitive Analysis of the Metaphors of “Self” in Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn by Abrquhī

Abstract

Following the developments of cognitive sciences in the second half of the 20th century, Lakoff, the linguist, and Johnson, the American philosopher, by proposing the contemporary theory of metaphor, demonstrated that the human perceptual system is essentially metaphorical (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). They argued that metaphor is a cognitive tool beyond a literary device and that the human mind and thought construct metaphors to better recognize and understand abstract concepts. Lakoff and Johnson classified conceptual metaphors into three categories: ontological, orientational, and structural. Since mystical concepts are intangible, the mystic tends to employ metaphor to express his revelations and spiritual experiences. The self, as a human reality, is among the significant topics in the works of mystics. Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn is a mystical prose text authored by Shams al-Dīn Ibrāhīm Abrquhī between 1311–1314 AD. This research, using a descriptive–analytical method, extracted and examined the conceptual metaphors of the self in Abrquhī’s Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn based on Lakoff and Johnson’s theory. The study found that the conceptual metaphors of the self in Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn are of two types: ontological and orientational. The findings indicate that most metaphors are ontological, among which the metaphor of the self as a “human” occurs with the highest frequency. Within anthropomorphic metaphors, the self as a “woman” draws particular attention. In Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn, the self displays different and contradictory cognitive functions such as strength, purity, rebelliousness, and more.