Image of a Cog: Preliminary Analysis of the Mechanism Metaphor Through the Conceptual Integration Theory

   This study explores the metaphor of the mechanism, focusing particularly on its subordinate sub-metaphor of the cog and examining how this image conceptualizes roles and functions within complex systems. While earlier research has primarily applied Conceptual Metaphor Theory, this paper introduces a combined approach that integrates Conceptual Metaphor Theory with Conceptual Integration Theory to reveal emergent meanings that cannot be explained by direct source–target mappings. This approach provides a more dynamic model of how mechanical and abstract input spaces interact to generate blended metaphorical structures. The empirical basis consists of corpus data drawn from the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the Russian National Corpus, including twenty representative examples from diverse discourses. The analysis shows that the superordinate metaphor “a system is a mechanism” is pervasive in both languages, while the subordinate metaphor “an individual is a cog” dominates across institutional, political, and cultural contexts. However, evaluation patterns diverge: English examples often frame cogs as cooperative or indispensable elements contributing to systemic efficiency, whereas Russian discourse frequently foregrounds depersonalization, ideological control, and functional replaceability. The findings demonstrate the adaptability of mechanistic metaphors and confirm the explanatory potential of Conceptual Integration Theory for identifying emergent meanings. These meanings − such as the loss of individuality, functional determinism, and even pride in indispensability could not be fully analyzed by simple domain mapping as proposed by Conceptual Metaphor theory alone. The results contribute to cognitive linguistics, metaphor theory, and discourse studies, offering insights into how mechanical imagery shapes conceptualizations of agency, hierarchy, and systemic order in abstract frameworks.

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