What is an argument-as-balance metaphor?

What is an argument-as-balance metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which rational argument is understood as a twin-pan balance of weights, such that the weight on either side represents the strength of the respective arguments on either side of a question.

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	The prosecution piled up evidence. The defense amassed facts. The debater built up a weighty argument. The jury weighed the merits of both sides. The arguments carried equal weight. More facts might tip the scale.

Generic
	An argument-as-balance metaphor is a kind of
	What is a metaphor for argument?

Source
	Johnson 1987

Context for this page:

Concept module: argument-as-balance metaphor
In modular book: Metaphors in English, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H. Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Lexicon

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 September 1998