Action Is Self-propelled Motion

Note:

Source Domain
motion, moving, path

Target Domain
action, acting

Action Is Self-propelled Motion

- 1 He exercised to the point of exhaustion.

- 2 She squeezed her way to thinner thighs.

- 3 He drank himself out of the promotion.

- 4 He went on with what he was doing.

- 5 She went back to sleep.

- 6 She sucessfully navigated her way through the contract negotiations.

Note: is self-propelled, but the state at which the person arrives is presumably not their goal. Thus, it seems clear that while 'purposes are destinations' can interact with this mapping, as we will see explicitly later in this file, it does not have to be present. What IS present in this mapping at this point, however, is that final states are final locations.

Manner Of Action Is Manner Of Motion

-- 1 We slogged through the application process.

-- 2 He is out of step with the other students.

-- 3 Slowly and steadily, she worked herself into the grave.

- 4 Never looking back, he went on with the project.

-- 1 When I'm around her I feel like I am walking on eggshells.

-- 2 He is treading on thin ice.

-- 3 He is walking a fine line between asserting his independenceand insulting the boss.

-- 1 He quickly took himself from rags to riches.

-- 2 She slowly ate her way to obesity.

A Stage In An Action Is A Location Along A Path

-- 1 We made it past the point where my legs usually get tired.

-- 2 I am at that part of the application process that I really hate.

-- 3 We are coming to that step where you beat the butter until smooth.

-- 4 We are in between stages--next we detach the booster rockets.

-- 5 She has sung her way through the anthem to the point where the really high note is.

Final States Are Final Locations

-- 1 I ended up exhausted.

-- 2 He's headed for an early death.

-- 3 His reckless investments are taking him into backruptcy.

Lack Of Change Resulting From Action Is Lack Of Motion

-- 1 He ate and ate but he didn't go tubby on us.

-- 2 She wrote, but never got to the point that she realized how bad it was.

Note: purposes as destinations.

Progress Is Forward Movement

-- 1 Let's forge ahead--we're already half-way through the analysis.

-- 2 Let's keep moving forward on this experiment.

-- 3 He hadn't made much headway in writing the termpaper.

-- 4 I'm afraid I haven't gotten very far in grading the exams.

Progress Is Measured In Distance To Destination Or In Distance From Starting Point

-- 1 She finally reached the end of the dissertation-writing process.

-- 2 After working on the application for days, I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

-- 3 We only have a short ways to go on solving this puzzle.

-- 4 I'm almost through reading this book.

-- 5 I've been working on this experiment for years, and the end is still a long ways off.

-- 6 We've come a long way in our efforts to realize fusion.

-- 7 We've made it this far in our efforts to solve the problem.

Speed Of Progress Is Speed Of Motion To A Destination

-- 1 He flew through his work.

-- 2 He went through some of the tasks on the exam too quickly.

-- 3 She is moving ahead by leaps and bounds on that project.

-- 4 I am moving at a snail's pace on grading these exams.

-- 5 He's moving quickly to close the deal.

Negative Progress Is Backward Movement

-- 1 I'd hate to see us back where we were thirty years ago, beforecivil rights had made the strides forward that we have seen.

-- 2 When the computer ate her work, she found herself back at the beginning of the writing process again.

-- 3 We need to backtrack on this problem--we took a wrong turn.

-- 4 I keep grading papers, but I still keep falling behind.

-- 5 I keep exercising, but I keep getting farther and farther frommy target weight.

Lack Of Purpose Is Lack Of Direction

-- 1 He is just floating around.

-- 2 He is drifting aimlessly.

-- 3 He needs some direction.

-- 4 He is a drifter with no direction.

Lack Of Progress Toward The Destination Is Lack Of Motion

-- 1 I got stuck half-way through grading the exams.

-- 2 He is at a standstill in the dissertation-writing process.

-- 3 We aren't getting any place by arguing.

-- 4 Making excuses is getting me nowhere.

Easy Action Is Easy Motion

-- 1 It is smooth sailing from here on in in the application process.

-- 2 It's all downhill for the rest of the course.

A Different Means Of Achieving The Purpose Is A Different Path

-- 1 To be cool, you have to wear your overalls this way.

-- 2 She solved the problem a different way.

-- 3 Do it any way you can.

-- 4 However you want to go about repairing it is fine with me.

Efficient Purposeful Action Is Direct Motion To A Destination

-- 1 He has gotten sidetracked on that problem.

-- 2 She made a beeline for the presidency.

Starting A Purposeful Action Is Starting Out For A Destination

-- 1 Apply for admission--a journey of a thousand miles . . .

-- 2 We are at the first step in the educational process.

-- 3 We are in the first stages of filing for bankruptcy.

The End Of Action Is The End Of The Path

-- 1 We are reaching the end of the house-buying process.

-- 2 Finally, all my educational goals are in reach.

-- 3 We are entering the last stages of filing for bankrupcy.

Note: control over, is of course understood as an object whose motionwe control (She brought the water to a boil). If we have a purposein the change that we bring about, then we can speak of that causedchange toward that goal as if it were the changing object moving itself toward that goal. From here on the discussed mapping will involve causation.The relevent generalization is that caused change in self-initiated change of state is forced motion relative to locations.

Control Over Action Is Control Over Motion.

-- 1 He pushed me into doing it.

-- 2 She leaned on him to do it.

-- 3 She pushed me through the steps in the application process.

-- 4 I need someone to help me through this problem.

-- 5 She leads him around by the nose.

-- 6 She held him back in his endeavors.

-- 7 She is being pushed into a corner by the ultimatum.

-- 8 Her boss doesn't give her any slack.

-- 6 She has her secretary on a tight rein.

-- 7 She has her fiance on a short leash.

-- 8 He is tied to his mother's apron strings.

Note: action-region/path, others involve forced motion within the action-path.

Guided Action Is Guided Motion

-- 1 She guided him through the problem.

-- 2 She walked him through the analysis.

-- 3 She led him through the rough parts of the course.

Obstacles To Action Are Obstacles To Motion

-- 1 We hit a roadblock when we tried to repeat the experiment.

-- 2 We are at an impasse in this project.

-- 3 I've hit a brick wall in my analysis.

-- 4 We are going upstream--the administation is opposed to our actions.

-- 5 We are fighting an uphill battle--we'll never get this proposal approved.

-- 6 It's a steep road ahead for equal rights advocates.

-- 7 We have to get over/around this problem.

-- 8 We faced many hurdles in taking on this problem.

-- 9 When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Continuing To Act Despite Difficulty, Is Moving Despite Obstacles

-- 1 I made it through/over the rough spots in writing the paper.

-- 2 I made it around the rough part of the analysis.

-- 3 I made it through college.

-- 4 I got through that step in the recipe OK.

-- 5 She is just going through the motions of applying for a loan.

Aids To Action Are Aids To Motion

-- 1 My Dad made the way smooth for all of us.

Caused Inability To Act Is Prevention Of Motion

-- 1 Regulations keep me from moving ahead with this housing project.

-- 2 Sudden illness stopped his progress.

-- 1 He's really gotten hung up at that step in the process.

-- 2 He is so caught up in his work he can't do anything else.

-- 3 He was held up in the meeting.

Self-motivated Action Is Self-propelled Motion

-- 1 She has a lot of get up and go.

-- 2 She always pushed herself.

-- 3 She can really get herself going.

Note: self-causation: where the same entity is the cause and the affectedparty. This of course maps the same entity as force and asmoved object.

Rights To Act Are Rights Of Way

- 1 I have a right TO do that.

- 2 There are no moral or legal roadblocks.

-- 1 Looking down the road, I don't see any problems.

-- 2 I can't see any way to do that.

-- 3 I can't see my way clear to giving you a raise.

-- 4 Looking back, I can see that we could have done it better.

-- 5 I can't see where I'm headed on this problem.

-- 6 I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Note: not a strict entailment of ACTION IS MOTION.

- 1 That coat pulled me into the store.

- 2 The smell of the cookies dragged me against my will to the cookie jar.

Note: with a notion of a desire as an external force.

- 1 What obligations have you gotten yourself into?

- 2 Can you get out of doing the dishes?

- 3 I can't get out of it, I'm locked into it.

- 4 Try to get out of those committments; don't let your boss box you in.

- 5 There's no way out; I have to do it.

- 6 He trapped her into going with her.

- 8 Do you know what you're getting into?

- 1 Have they entered into an agreement yet?

- 2 He couldn't get out of his agreement.

- 3 He can be coaxed into an agreement.

- 4 Is there an excape hatch in this agreement?

(for entire file) Sharon Fischler, Karin Myhre, George Lakoff, Adele Goldberg, Jane Espenson

Target
Action (Object)

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