Aesthetic metaphor as a tool for enhancing perception and conception

Human creates mental representations for world's phenomena by perception and conception. However, in normal conditions, people may not properly perceive and conceive some dimensions of phenomena. In this paper, we specifically focus on aesthetic dimensions to discuss this idea that aesthetic metaphor can be a tool for enhancing human's perception and conception of beauties in world's phenomena. We distinguish between perceptual and conceptual beauties. We suggest that enhanced perceptualization through aesthetic metaphor allows people to strongly embody and perceive beauties in the target of the metaphor. On the other hand, enhanced conceptualization through aesthetic metaphor enables people to conceive structural beauties in the target domain of the metaphor. Enhanced conceptualization is a higher and a more discovery-oriented process than enhanced perceptualization. In fact, enhanced perceptualization can be regarded as a part of enhanced conceptualization. Enhanced perceptualization and enhanced conceptualization through aesthetic metaphor can lead to the emergence of a new mental representation for target domain of an aesthetic metaphor. In this representation, beautiful dimensions, which are normally less perceivable and less conceivable, become more perceivable, conceivable, embodied, and acknowledgeable. Finally, we conclude that aesthetic metaphor can be a tool for stimulating sensory and cognitive systems to perceive and conceive beauties.