The Mirror Fallacy Summary

While reading, Conceptual Metaphors by Layoff, The Mirror Fallacy by Keysers, and Self Serving Bias (principle) by Myers, there are key ideas and words throughout each text that stood out. First, in the article by Layoff, it examines metaphors, as well as, brain function. A conceptual metaphor is “a complex theory of how the brain gives rise to thought and language, and how cognition is embodied”(Layoff). These types of metaphors form naturally in children’s brains in their everyday lives and as they grow, but they tend to be different variations by person. I feel as though this metaphor type is the strongest that is present in life, due to how it influences people from birth to adulthood. Another metaphor type is Primary Metaphors, which has to do with how the brain maps while linking to various brain regions; this concept is learned naturally, relating to that of a conceptual metaphor. Around the world today, different

When we observe actions and/or emotions of someone else our brain will mirror this action and/or emotion. I found this concept interesting, because it made me think of the word, empathy. Many people feel as though they are empathetic, however, are not actually understanding the feelings of someone else, relating to the mirror fallacy. The mirror fallacy, continues by stating that people can only truly be mirroring when they have the exact same body and brain as the other does; this is hard to determine depending on the person. Therefore, the concept of mirroring can definitely mislead us, making us feel as though we are experiencing the same action and/or emotion as another, even if they are feeling the total opposite way. Fallacies play a part in everyday life when we project the world one way and think that everyone is projecting the world in that similar view, however, this is not always