Conceptual Metaphors: A Review With Implications for Human Understandings and Systems Practice

We provide an overview of metaphor theory and explore implications for systems practice by building on claims that metaphors are central to our ways of understanding. As stakeholders will have different understandings, each metaphor will reveal and conceal different aspects of their understandings. These differences need to be accommodated within systems practice. Our contribution in this paper is to show how metaphors can explain, appreciate and create different understandings. Further, new understandings can emerge from considering different metaphors. As metaphors are distinguished in language, we consider claims that all language is metaphorical. Different theories as to how metaphors work are discussed. Relationships between models, paradigms and metaphors are considered, as models are closely aligned with ways of understanding. We argue that metaphors are distinguished, rather than existing independently of distinction. For our purpose a metaphor can be seen as a description and recognised by the use of the words is and as. The analysis of metaphors has been used in a research programme to enrich systems practice. A focus on metaphors can allow local stakeholders to participate with a valuing of different understandings and where credence is given to allowing new understandings to emerge.