George Lakoff Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things What Categories Reveal about the Mind GP re University or Chicago Press Chicago and London‘The Importance of Categorization Many sears, suspect, wl ake the ite this book as suggesting hat Women, ire, and danaerourhings haesomething common): that Women are ier und dangerous Most feminist ve mentioned have Ibse these for that reason, though ome have tet forthe sme ea Son. By the ein of infetence~Lom Conus to eategoza04 0 ommonaly—isthe ort. The inference ase on he common deo ‘what it meas ein the ste category things are catenonsed together Sn the Baas of what hey haven someon. Thee hat ators re ‘Setned by common propertce sar ony ob everyday alk theory Sahat a atgory 8 a80 the pineal teckel theory ae ha es eon it fr more than two thousand Yeas “The excl view ht catepories ae based on shared properties et ently rong. We often do esteporze tgs on tat base But hai ‘nly » smal part ofthe soy. In secet years it as Become lea hs tepoizaon fama complex than ha Ae hea ot xenon tion elled prope theory hs emerged shows ht human etepo {xtn sae on piails thc extend far beyond hows eine 0 the easel tony One of 0 doa isto sures the completes ofthe sey poopie ten entogorize. For example the ile of ths Book was Spied bythe Ausalian aboriginal language Diba which has a cate for, Bala, tha etal eles women, Be, aad dango hig. It So iacudes as nat are mo! dangerous aswel asextepona sums, Sch asthe playpus,bansooo, and echidna, Tis ar stnply a matter ‘ot eateporiztion by sommon pepsi, as me sal ce when we Jaca Dhitalclassitetion inca “Categorisation ot 4 mater be taken ighty. These is nothing «nore banc thn etegoraation to our thoogh, perception, acon, 28d speech, very tne we se someting ass kindof thing for exam 8 Ice, we a cuggoring. Whenever we. reason itout kin of ‘hinds "shas, matony, estes, emotion, any kind of haga ne1, ae employing categories, Wheres we intentionally perform ty kind ‘Staton ty someting vs muodane oy wating witha pone ameering Shs hammer. ironing lates, we ac wing categnnes. The ptr “+ eto we peforn oa at pecs kin of mor actin (ee wre ing: hmmesing ironaa). that isin paris xepory of ot tions They ae acter dope inexact he sameway, yet dept te Sie. sce inparicalar movements. dey urea moverents of kind, 0d we ow ow to mae movements of thst Kink And any fine weet po duce or understand any uterace of 205 reason Lng, wea em plying densa betas feature: espe spe nd Sf iG. of pate: and dass, 8 wel a soncepin eaepone, With ‘Sut the sity to extegoriz, we could ao Funcom al either i the physi! wold orin oe soca ad intellect ines At understanding fw we categorie i conel yay understanding of bow we hk Sd ow we foncon, and therefore ental top underancing of what ‘rakes ws Aun ‘Most eatesozaon is stomatic and unconscious, anf we become sre of i atl st omy Im prlemti ans. In moving abou the ‘world we stomatal etercze people. animals, and phy objects, ‘eth aturl and man-made. Thi sometime eso the presi eos cxteyrte tng 5 thay ane that things come ia taal Kinds anda our eaten of mind natorsly the Kinds of things three the word: Bat age proportion of our xtegores re nokeatgarics of thing thy ate eateries of abstract emit. We categorize events ae ‘ons, emotions, stl relaonship, soci relationships, and asian) fates of am ences range” government ingtey, ahd cots It Both semi ane fk theories. ike elesteons and colds. Any adequate sccount of Haman toh mast prvi am ewe theory for al Ut ‘nego, Doh eset and abet Seeomayy Romie tine of Atala theater work of Wiigenst,catgories were though hese understood ang unproblematic They ete sumed torte ghntretconainers, with things ete inde or outside te ete gory Things were sumed tobe in he sme category iad cay i they fad eran propria in common” And th popertes hey hatin com son were ken ts defining te tego This lesa try nae he suk of ems stady. was not vena sje of major debate. IURae pulosopical postion hed a “thefts fs prio speculation. Over the centres esp beame Prof he Bockeround sumption taken fr Bante nest cholaly fsciptines tat, unt very vesely, the class theory of catego tras not even ought fa. thor. Jas Gupta ost dssplnes not San enseal pothesis Dut a unquestionable, defsona ath, The bnporanie of Caepricaion 7 lw a remarkably shor time thats eangel Cateprization has ‘move fom he Background 1 center sage brcause of empirical stasis {ea wide range of dscns. Within copate pssebolon, extort tion has become ajar eld of sey, hank mat the poneeting swank ofElesnor Rosch, ho made esteyruston an ise, Se fase ‘rho implcations of the casa theory Fis, i eategores ace defined only by properties that all members ‘hate then no meres should be eter example of the ego mah ny oer cers ‘Second, if sutegoies ae defined only by properties inherent the inembes, then categorie should be adepentent ofthe pessiaates of ny bengs dons te cnteporiaing; hat they should nove sch Imaters a human heuropysilogy, human boy mover ad ‘ium capaiin a prseve. form mental mages. urn 208 fersember, 10 oganize the iNBGs learned. and to communicate ct fen. Roich observed that ston by ens and others demonstrated thst “utogorien in genera, have bes examples le “presoryes" an ch et the specials umn capcies jut mentioned do ply 9 ole 0 ‘Stesoraton Inzelrospoc, sath rhs shoul pr have bee al hat supesing. Yet the pec dete ent shock waver troughout te cogaive sence tnd many ofthe reverberation ate stil tobe ek Ponty eae ‘eval. yehanpog our sdes ofthe most fundamental a ban caps fice te capa fo categre—and With cbt eof what he Baan tad and human eas08 ave ike, Reaun, inthe Wes hs long een TBnumed toe demboded pe sbsest distin! 08 se one had rr eeepton andthe Body and cule pd onthe Other and Hom che [Roshan ot iaginaton tor example, topo sou ental imery Tn tis cena. e800 han buen undertod by Many plsopher, eyctolog, and other roughly ting the mode! Ofna ecg Tog Reason the meshansal manipulation of strat smo wc are smeiningls ia themeles, but ean be given meaning by wire o ei ‘apn 0 fefer to tans itera the Seal wonton posible tates oti ton, Sinve the dil computer works by symbol manipulation and sinc “Somboh ean be teprcted ims database, mich en eed {Sr parti ede! of aly he compote as bee ake by many 3 ‘ental possessing te capa oresso8. This the as of he Ste.