FROM OBJECTIFICATION TO PERSONIFICATION. DARWIN’S CONCEPT OF (NATURAL) SELECTION

• Authors: Drogosz Anna
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The article presents an analysis of conceptual metaphors used by Darwin to describe artificial and natural selection. It is established that three kinds of metaphorization are employed: objectification to conceptualize artificial selection, and agentification and personification to conceptualize natural selection. It is argued that the evidence of Darwin’s text justifies identifying agentification as a special type of metaphorization. Further it is claimed that the ordering of metaphors: objectification – agentification – personification demonstrates the primacy of objectification with respect to more elaborate metaphors and recapitulates the phylogenetic development of the process of metaphorization. The article also addresses the motivation for Darwin’s anthropocentric language.

Keywords

EN

personification; objectification; Darwin; selection

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie
• Journal: Acta Neophilologica
• Year: 2012
• Volume: XIV/1
• Pages: 51-60

Dates

published

2012-06-01

Contributors

author

Drogosz Anna

• Katedra Filologii Angielskiej Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie

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