Open AccessMetaphors of Lawyers' Professionalism
Author(s) -
Jonnette Watson Hamilton
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
alberta law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1925-8356
pISSN - 0002-4821
DOI - 10.29173/alr1121
Subject(s) - metaphor , elitism , ethnocentrism , hierarchy , ideal (ethics) , reading (process) , sociology , law , inclusion (mineral) , epistemology , political science , linguistics , philosophy , social science , politics
This article examines three common metaphors in several professional codes of legal conduct and supporting documents. The metaphors are the "metaphoric networks" based on the military, gentility and Christianity. Numerous examples of all three metaphoric networks are given. Metaphors are non-arbitrary. The three metaphoric networks examined here are consistent with one of the most common orientation metaphors in the English language, the metaphor expressing relationships in bodily terms of "up" and "down." These metaphoric networks evoke a hierarchy of society based on a strictly male, ethnocentric British-Canadian world. The lawyer reading the codes of conduct that contain these metaphors would see the image of the lawyer created according to the lawyer's own inclusion within or exclusion from that ideal. Also, this social elitism may contribute to the public's lack of respect for the legal profession.