“interaction metaphors” — blending inchoate ideas and intuitions into coherent wholes.

• partswork problematic implicit metaphor because it hides an endless loop?
• a foundational metaphor the human as a complex dynamic system, as opposed to a mechanical static system

An interaction metaphor is a concept that describes how metaphor governs our fundamental organization of reality and serves as the basis for ordinary language. These metaphors blend inchoate ideas and intuitions into coherent wholes. The purpose of interaction metaphors is to: • Build robust mental models: They help construct non-reductive mental models that demonstrate the deep continuity and aliveness of the body-mind-world. • Discard unhelpful models: They enable the rejection of "malware" mental models that hinder our understanding of who, how, and why we are in relation to the world. Key characteristics and applications of interaction metaphors include: • Foundation of thought: All thinking is dependent upon metaphor, involving cross-modal metaphoric blending. Even science relies on metaphors for its concepts. Feelings are explicated through metaphor, which forms the foundation of concepts, leading to all conceptual and abstract thinking. • Relationship to existence: A metaphor is fundamentally a relationship, and existence itself is described as relationship. Metaphors represent the concrete ways things actually happen. • Dynamism: An interaction metaphor can be envisioned as a current flowing through something. • Usefulness over rightness: There is no "right" or "wrong" metaphor; rather, the focus is on what metaphor is useful for a particular inquiry. Language can be intentionally used as action protocols to create change in a desired direction. • Bridging domains: Interaction metaphors, like the "up-hierarchy" concept, help bridge different domains and scales, such as matter, life, and mind, as well as individual, ecological, and societal levels. Examples of interaction metaphors discussed in the sources include: • Sensemaking up-hierarchy • Habitat and habitas • Action protocols • Action thresholds • The idea of envisioning the nature-body interaction, body-mind interaction, and collective human intelligence as "up-hierarchies". • The metaphor "we are in nature" is an interaction metaphor based on a mental model, prompting inquiry into what that metaphor truly implies (e.g., are we "in nature" like candy in a box?). The continuous interplay between metaphor and reality is also highlighted, with questions arising about "how much of this is metaphor and how much of this is real" in ongoing discussions. These metaphors can even be extended to describe processes in the animal and plant kingdoms, suggesting a broad applicability to life itself.