Wittgenstein, the body, its metaphors

Abstract

Contemporary theories of metaphor often give the body a foundational status, by claiming that it provides the universal ground upon which imagination engenders figurative thought. This paper goes against this idea, discussing the relationship between the body and metaphor from a non foundationalist point of view. Taking a Wittgensteinean stance on metaphor and on the body, it aims to provide elements to rethink the issue, exploring in particular the path open by the Austrian philosopher in his critique of traditional mental/physical, inner/outer dichotomies.