Metaphor and Commonsense Reasoning

<p>Inferences based on metaphors appear to play a major role in human common sense reasoning. This paper identifies and analyzes general inference patterns based upon underlying metaphors, in particular the pervasive <em>balance principle. </em>Strategies for metapnor comprehension are explored, and <em>analogical mapping structures </em>are proposed as a means of representing metaphorical relationships between domains. In addition, a framework for a computational model embodying principles of metaphorical common sense reasoning is discussed.</p>