El Refaie, Elisabeth  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5928-9297 and Thatcher, Christina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0105-6797
2025.
Becoming buttercups: Fostering eco-empathy through metaphorical creative writing.
Metaphor and Symbol
40
(2)
, pp. 99-113.
10.1080/10926488.2024.2431075
|
Preview |
PDF
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (786kB) | Preview |
Abstract
This article critically evaluates the concept of ecological empathy (or “eco-empathy”), reconceptualizing it as creative, embodied thinking that embraces paradoxes between emotion and cognition, body and mind, and the human and non-human. Drawing on cognitive linguistics, social and evolutionary psychology, and phenomenology, we argue that metaphor plays a crucial role in fostering this form of eco-empathy, by bridging emotional and cognitive understanding and facilitating the creation of new conceptual links. These arguments are tested by means of a qualitative case study, involving creative writing workshops, where participants were invited to respond to an eco-art exhibition by projecting themselves imaginatively into one of the exhibited wild plants. The analysis of metaphors used in the resulting poems, and of post-workshop interviews, demonstrated how the creation of novel metaphors led participants to develop a deeper understanding and emotional connection to their chosen plants, as well as encouraging greater engagement with the natural world more generally.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > English, Communication and Philosophy |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis Group |
| ISSN: | 1092-6488 |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 14 November 2024 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 13 November 2024 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Apr 2025 14:13 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/174002 |
Actions (repository staff only)
 |
Edit Item |
Dimensions
Dimensions