Conceptual metaphor theory implies that ubiquitous metaphors become mere descriptions or concepts if they are not embedded in competing discursive communities. This paper demonstrates that weaponiz- retained its meaningfulness after becoming ubiquitous despite being used by all sides in contemporary contentious politics. Because metaphors derive their figurativeness through tension, weaponiz- shows that temporality, or social time, can be marshaled to contrast an unpleasant “now” with a better “past.” This metaphoricity stands in contrast to the word’s conceptual origins in the Cold (...) War defense industry as a literal description of the logistical deployment of weapons systems. As the word’s use mutated into a metaphor around 2003, it took on its contemporary moral meaning of over-politicizing things that had been, and should remain, neutral or peaceful. By 2017 “the weaponization of everything” implied that all aspects of social life were newly embroiled in illegitimate politics, making the metaphor a profound act of nostalgia that erased even recent conflicts. This paper thus adds temporal rhetorical tension as one of the ways that metaphors can retain meaningfulness through a case study of a metaphor that arose only recently, demonstrating the usefulness of diachronic analyses of novel metaphor emergence. (shrink)

The essay analyses the mereological structure of an act of intentional presentation, on the basis of Benussi' and Kanizsa's works. Several aspects are discussed, among which: The existence of diverse formats of representation, their eventual continuity, the presence of subjective integrations at primary levels, and the identification of phrases in the phenomenic structure of an act of presentation. It is argued that the difference between perceptual and mental presence, as elaborated by Kanizsa, proves to be a valid instrument for the (...) categorial analysis of phenomenic appearances. (shrink)

Besides presenting a phenomenological-experimental analysis of consciousness, Meinong challenged one of the major indisputable axioms of current scientific research, i.e. that perception in awareness has to be veridical on the stimulus. Meinong’s analysis of consciousness, which he conducted through a kind of dissection of its structures from a systematic and an experimental viewpoint, offers relevant insights to contemporary consciousness studies.