Indurkhya, Bipin. 1994. The thesis that all knowledge is metaphorical and meanings of metaphor. Journal Article. pp. 61-73
Abstract
(from INTRODUCTION)One question that has sprouted much controversy in the philosophical and cognitive science research on metaphor is whether all knowledge (or language) is metaphorical (see, e.g., Lakoff and Turner, 1989, chap. 2; Mac Cormac, 1985, chap. 3; Wheeler, 1990). This thesis, to which I refer hereafter as "the strong thesis of metaphor," has been implicitly or explicitly argued for by such scholars as Arbib and Hesse (1986), Berggren (1962, 1963), Black (1962, 1979), Cassirer (1955), Emmet (1945), Hesse (1974), Richards (1936), Ricoeur (1976, 1977, 1978), Sewell (1964), Turbayne (1962), and Wheeler (1987). Two of the strongest critics of the strong thesis have been Lakoff, along with his colleagues Johnson and Turner, and Mac Cormac. This is quite interesting given the fact that these two camps have diametrically opposing views on metaphor. Their rejection of the strong thesis is perhaps the only thing they have in common. My objective in this article is to critically examine the strong thesis of metaphor. I argue that the meaning of metaphor in the strong thesis is different from the way the term has been denned by either Lakoff or Mac Cormac. Nevertheless, the meaning is quite consistent with how the term is used in everyday language. Ignoring this crucial fact has created an unnecessary controversy surrounding the strong thesis. However, once we distinguish between different meanings of metaphor, we see that, although in one sense the strong thesis appears to be trivially true, in another sense it makes a deeper epistemological commitment, which should be the bone for contention whenever its status is being questioned. In particular, I point out two nontrivial hypotheses underlying the strong thesis that are a fair game for a philosophical debate. Finally, after the different usages of the term 'metaphor' are clarified and the needless controversy surrounding the strong thesis has been dissipated, I conclude by highlighting some other important issues concerning metaphor.(Bipin Indurkhya)