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Single Idea 18028

[filed under theme 19. Language / F. Communication / 6. Interpreting Language / d. Metaphor ]

Full Idea

Gricean theories of metaphor …assume that conversational implicatures are generated via literal contents, and hence that a sentence cannot generate an implicature without being literally meaningful.

Gist of Idea

Gricean theories of metaphor involve conversational implicatures based on literal meanings

Source

Ofra Magidor (Category Mistakes [2013], 3.5)

Book Ref

Magidor,Ofra: 'Category Mistakes' [OUP 2013], p.72

A Reaction

Magidor gives not details of such theories, but presumably the metaphor is all in the speaker's intention, which is parasitic on the wayward literal meaning, as in cases of irony.

The 14 ideas with the same theme [using falsehoods to enhance understanding]:

1692 If you shouldn't argue in metaphors, then you shouldn't try to define them either [Aristotle]
7775 Understanding a metaphor is a creative act, with no rules [Davidson]
7776 Metaphors just mean what their words literally mean [Davidson]
7777 We accept a metaphor when we see the sentence is false [Davidson]
19161 We indicate use of a metaphor by its obvious falseness, or trivial truth [Davidson]
8861 Hardly a word in the language is devoid of metaphorical potential [Yablo]
18022 Metaphors tend to involve category mistakes, by joining disjoint domains [Magidor]
18023 Theories of metaphor divide over whether they must have literal meanings [Magidor]
18024 One theory says metaphors mean the same as the corresponding simile [Magidor]
18027 Metaphors as substitutes for the literal misses one predicate varying with context [Magidor]
18025 The simile view of metaphors removes their magic, and won't explain why we use them [Magidor]
18026 Maybe a metaphor is just a substitute for what is intended literally, like 'icy' for 'unemotional' [Magidor]
18028 Gricean theories of metaphor involve conversational implicatures based on literal meanings [Magidor]
18029 Non-cognitivist views of metaphor says there are no metaphorical meanings, just effects of the literal [Magidor]