Connecting “theory” and “practice”

In this section, I want to introduce Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory and the recent take on Wittgenstein as a philosopher of technology by Mark Coeckelbergh (2017). The former is a well-known theory among philosophers of mind and provides the vocabulary needed to describe parallels between Wittgenstein and the mechanics of OKM. The latter provides a framework to understand technology in terms of its use, introducing a social, historical, and cultural dimension to technology. An interesting difference between these two is the role that Wittgenstein’s philosophy played in their conception. While Lakoff and Johnson did practically ignore Wittgenstein despite mentioning other relevant contemporaries of his (Peters, 2015), Coeckelbergh very consciously takes a place in the previously mentioned long line of new interpretations of Wittgenstein. Nevertheless, I am primarily focused on their contributions to solving the puzzle of Wittgenstein (“theory”) and Open Knowledge Maps (“practice”).