This book explores the possibility that people understand abstract social concepts using metaphor, which is not simply a matter of words. Rather, it is a cognitive tool for understanding abstract concepts (such as morality) in terms of superficially dissimilar concepts that are relatively easier to comprehend (such as cleanliness).

In the past decade, the development of a formal theoretical framework, labeled conceptual metaphor theory, has stimulated systematic empirical study on metaphor's role in social psychological phenomena.

This book summarizes current knowledge and integrates recent developments in the topic of metaphor and in the cognitive underpinnings of social life.