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The Creation of Similarity: A Discussion of Metaphor in Light of Tversky's Theory of Similarity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

Eva Feder Kittay
Eva Feder Kittay*
Affiliation:
SUNY, Stony Brook
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Extract

The cognitive interest in metaphor and simile derives from a conceptual detour: through these figures we regard one thing in terms of another, and in so doing our understanding of the first is modified in light of perspective gained by the second.

But why, in terms of cognitive gain, engage in such conceptual detours? That is, what motivates our use of metaphor and simile? The motivation of metaphor has often been thought to be the assertion of asimilarity amongst things generally not thought to be similar. However, as Max Black pointed out in criticizing the “comparison theory of metaphor”, metaphors are not simple comparisons of “objectively given” similarities, wherein to the question “is A like B in respect of P?” we might have a definite answer.

Type
Part IX. Philosophy of Science, past and Future: Metaphor and Play
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1982 , Issue 1: Volume One: Contributed Papers 1982 , 1982 , pp. 394 - 405
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1982

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