Metaphors in Action

Through a transdisciplinary lens, this book offers a unique description of how metaphors inform our conceptual system and shape our world accordingly. Metaphors in action means marking a break from conventional methodologies:  observing metaphors as they operate reveals how conceptual mappings serve as interpretive tools, directing perception, limiting reasoning patterns, and either enabling or hindering comprehension in practical situations. This collection guides through an exploration of how metaphors exhibit consistency with the cultural contexts and value systems from which they emerge. We examine metaphor as a "semantic network", a framework that immediately suggests new pathways for generating alternative ontological possibilities. This book explores the role and significance of metaphors and the landscapes they shape in five disparate fields: philosophy, linguistics, law, health and digital technologies. This volume is an invaluable resource for students and researchers in philosophy, health sciences, psychology, and the digital humanities.

Dr. Francesca Brencio is Teaching Fellow in mental health at the Institute for Mental Health at School of Psychology of the University of Birmingham (UK) with a full-time teaching position. She is the founder and Director of the Pheno-Lab, A Theoretical Laboratory on Philosophy and Mental Health, officially recognised as an Organisational Partner at The Collaborating Centre for Values-based Practice in Health and Social Care at the St Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford (UK).  Executive Committee Member of The Royal College of Psychiatrists Special Interest Group in Philosophy, she co-leads The Birmingham Network for Phenomenology and Mental Health, funded by the University of Birmingham Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) Network+ Scheme. Her fields of investigation are phenomenology, hermeneutics, phenomenological psychopathology, philosophy of psychiatry, qualitative research and Heidegger Studies. Dr. Brencio has published over 100 scientific papers in prestigious international journals, both in philosophy and psychiatry. She has authored and edited the following books and special issues: F. Brencio (2024), (ed.) Phenomenology, Neuroscience and Clinical Practice. Transdisciplinary Experiences, Springer Nature, Cham; S. Ferrarello, F. Brencio, V. Bizzari, M. Englander (2025), “Phenomenological Psychopathology: Who, What and How? An analysis of key figures, advancements and challenges”, Special Issue of Frontiers in Psychology. She is among the contributors of APA Handbook of Humanistic and Existential Psychology, (American Psychological Association Press, 2025, ISBN 978-1-4338-4328-0), Storia della Fenomenologia Clinica (UTET, Torino 2020, ISBN:978-8-860085986), The Oxford Handbook of Phenomenological Psychopathology (Oxford University Press, Oxford 2019, ISBN 978-0-198803157). She also works as Certified APPA Philosophical Counsellor. 
 
Riccardo De Biase was Associate Professor of History of Philosophy at the University of Naples Federico II (Italy). His research activity has covered both the modern (Descartes, Luther) and contemporary fields (Cassirer, Heidegger, Peirce). His main academic interests were related to the Marburg Neo-Kantianismus, the phenomenological dimension of Heidegger’s thought and Cassirer’s interpretation of the history of philosophy, especially in his dialogue with Heidegger. More recently, his research was focused on the Kantian roots of Peirce’s thought to understand Peirce’s pragmatism as a possible heir to the erkenntnistheoretisch problems of criticism. In latest years, he also worked on Digital Humanities. He founded and directed the series of Cassirerian studies Krinein (Federico II University Press) and the critical philosophy journal Pragmata.