You can't understand Twenty-first-Century Politics with an Eighteenth-Century Brain.
Interpretation
Modern political issues require contemporary thinking and understanding.
George Lakoff's quote suggests that to effectively comprehend and navigate the complexities of today's political landscape, one must adopt a mindset that is relevant to current times. The phrase emphasizes the gap between historical understanding and the demands of modern society, implying that outdated perspectives are inadequate for addressing contemporary challenges. It advocates for intellectual adaptability and the necessity of evolving thought processes to engage with current realities.
In practice
In a political debate, this quote could be used to illustrate the need for current thinking in policy-making.
Do we really think that the United States will have the protection of innocent Afghans in mind if it rains terror down on the Afghan infrastructure? We are supposedly fighting them because they immorally killed innocent civilians. That made them evil. If we do the same, are we any less immoral?
Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.
The mind is inherently embodied._x000D_ Thought is mostly unconscious._x000D_ Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical.
Alexander, Charlemagne and myself all tried to found an empire on force and we failed. Jesus Christ is building an empire on love, and today there are millions of people who would gladly die for His sake.
There is a common perception that compassion is, if not actually an impediment, at least irrelevant to professional life. Personally, I would argue that not only is it relevant, but that when compassion is lacking, our activities are in danger of becoming destructive. This is because when we ignore the question of the impact our actions have on others' well-being, inevitably we end up hurting them.
Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!
Everyone who has something is afraid of losing it, and people with nothing are worried they'll forever have nothing. Everyone is the same.
The opposite of manliness isn't cowardice; it's technology.
The message from Wal-Mart today to the rest of the business community is there need not be any conflict between the environment and the economy. We will find the way not only to reconcile (those), but to find new profits and new opportunities as we do the right thing.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.