“My faith is in science”: an ecocognitive study on metaphors of science in a denialist discourse

• Autor(a) principal: Pires Rodrigues, Marcos Victor
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Duque, Paulo Henrique
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Signo (Santa Cruz do Sul. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://online.unisc.br/seer/index.php/signo/article/view/17885
• topic: Metaphors of Science; Ecocognition and Language; Language Games; Denialist Discourse; The Flat Earth Movement; Metáforas de Ciência; Ecocognição e Linguagem; Jogos de Linguagem; Discurso Negacionista; Terraplanismo

In this paper, we aim to characterize the metaphors of science used by one of the most influential leaders of the Brazilian Flat Earth Movement, the investor Jota Marthins, in his conceptualization of SCIENCE. We perform an ecocognitive analysis of an interview given by Marthins to the Youtube channel QUEM SOMOS NÓS (2020). Thus, we approach the interview as a language game in which linguistic individuals construct and (re)model concepts (frames) of SCIENCE, by using ecocognitive resources. In this perspective, conceptual emulation is one of the fundamental conceptualization mechanisms. Emulation can be realized in an online dimension, as situated metaphors (VEREZA, 2013b), and in an offline dimension, as   conceptual metaphors (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, 1980). Therefore, we present a partially multimodal analysis which reveals a diverse use of situated metaphors of SCIENCE and a particular emulative pattern for situated metaphors of MODERN SCIENCE. Such pattern allowed us to identify the conceptual metaphor SCIENCE IS A HUMAN BEING. Furthermore, we discuss the possible argumentative importance concerning the detected metaphors.