Does anyone know an example of an orientational metaphor using deep/shallow?
A basin that is ‘deep’ but ‘narrow’ is analogous to a strong emotional state that we only experience fleetingly or on infrequent occasions. A ‘shallow’ but ‘wide’ basin is like a state of mind that we are able to experience in many different situations, but which is not very intense. A ‘shallow’ and narrow basin represents a very transient psychological state that we experience only rarely and not very strongly. A ‘deep’ and ‘wide’ basin analogizes to a mental state that is intense yet easily arises in a variety of different circumstances. The basic assumptions in the cognitive study of metaphors are that our concepts structure what we perceive and that these concepts are fundamentally metaphorical. More precisely, the claim is that we conceptualize the world and our daily experiences around metaphorical concepts, such as the images and root metaphors of spatial orientation based on the oppositions of up-down, in-out, or deep-shallow, as in “knowledge is deep” and “learning is shallow.
