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