Metaphors, law and artefacts, or a few remarks on legal concepts from the perspective of cognitive science

English abstract: The issue of artefactual character of law is an interesting subject of discussion among the philosophers of law. Although it may seem to be just one of the typical disputes about words, it serves an interesting point of reference for the analyses devoted to the nature of legal concepts from the perspective of cognitive sciences, which in turn leads to a more general reflection on the origins and nature of law. In the paper I explore, firstly, some aspects of philosophical discussions concerning artefacts and, secondly, I outline the theory of conceptual metaphors (including the character of mapping and embodiment). Then I point out how the analysis of legal concepts from the perspective of selected aspects of cognitive science matters for the theorizing about ontology of law.

Keywords: conceptual metaphor, legal concepts, embodied cognition, artefact