Language and metaphor between monotheism and the unity of existence | Abdulwahab Al-Masiri

This study addresses a somewhat new topic, which is the relationship between language and metaphor with human perception of the universe and his conception of the relationship between the Creator and the created. In other words, it connects several fields of human activity (linguistic studies — religious studies — psychological studies). It is divided into two sections. The first section deals with figurative images as specific expressions of human perception of the universe. The study monitors the two main metaphorical images in modern Western civilization: the mechanical image and the organic image. It also applies the method of analyzing metaphorical images as an entry point to understanding the underlying dominant model in the Zionist mind, whether in relation to itself or in relation to others. The second section of the study deals with a more abstract topic, which is the relationship between the perception of the universe through language, and the problematic relationship between the signifier (term — indication — name) and the signified (concept — referent — designated). The study shows that the linguistic vision, which suggests that there is a relationship of connection and separation between the signifier and the signified, is usually based on the monotheistic view that God is the center of the universe, transcendent but cared for, in a relationship of communication with the world and separation from it, with a distance separating the Creator and the created. As for the vision that sees a complete integration or complete separation between the signifier and the signified, it is based on the ontological view that God has fully incarnated in His creations, thus eliminating the distance between them, and making the Creator and the universe one essence. The study then discusses two types of discourse and language: metaphorical language with multiple levels and dimensions, versus iconic and literal language, which has a single level and dimension. The metaphorical language expresses the monotheistic perception of God as being separate from the universe yet connected to it at the same time. Conversely, iconic and literal language are the result of the belief in the incarnation of God in the world, His manifestation within it, and His unity with it.