Understanding Plato’s Political Philosophy through Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Case Study: Politeia)

Articles in Press

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Authors

Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

10.30471/mssh.2025.11017.2643

Abstract

Abstract

The traditional view of metaphor as a mere literary device for aesthetic embellishment was fundamentally challenged in the second half of the twentieth century with the emergence of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). According to this contemporary theory, metaphor is not merely a matter of language but an essential mechanism of thought. Our cognitive processes, as this theory posits, are largely metaphorical in nature: we unconsciously understand abstract or unfamiliar domains through mappings from more concrete and familiar ones. Applying this framework can yield significant insights across various domains of knowledge. This study aims to utilize Conceptual Metaphor Theory to reveal the unconscious metaphorical structure underlying Plato’s political philosophy in the dialogue Politeia (The Republic). The central research question is: What conceptual metaphor underlies the core of Plato’s political philosophy regarding the Greek polis? The hypothesis proposed is that the foundational conceptual metaphor in Politeia is the metaphor of the polis as a human body. To support this claim, we analyze the text to demonstrate how Plato’s political thought is shaped by ancient Greek medicine and, more broadly, by pre-Socratic natural philosophy.

Keywords

Methodology of Social Sciences and Humanities

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 September 2025

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