ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the organism metaphor. Following some introductory remarks, a historical overview of the historical theme is provided. This historical overview focuses heavily on the evolution of medical care within the United States, as the growing interest in medicine, health, and sanitation certainly supported comparisons between the physical and social or national body. The chapter also considers the importance of “embodiment,” in the way we view the world around us. As we develop, we come to understand our surroundings and even abstract concepts based in part on our physical sensory experiences. As one might assume, embodiment is particularly important in relation to the organism metaphor, since the metaphor itself draws parallels from our physical bodies to explain or describe social phenomena. The chapter concludes by briefly describing alternative metaphor themes (animal, war, and object metaphors) and considering the overlap or conceptual relationship between these and the organism metaphor.
