One of the features of an encompassing account of language that Charles Taylor
examines in Chapter Five, “The Figuring Dimension of
Language,” of The Language Animal is a special kind
of metaphor, which is rooted in the embodiment of humans. Their
perspective-taking, their intuition of position in space, etc., provide
‘structural templates’ for thinking and leave their traces
in their expressions. Taylor compares these metaphors with paradigms. My paper
discusses the differences between the two. Taylor’s example
‘Time Is a Resource’ is understood more deeply if seen as
a paradigm, i.e., a set of beliefs and practices, instead of as a
‘structural template,’ i.e., rooted in embodiment.