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Single Idea 7777
[filed under theme 19. Language / F. Communication / 6. Interpreting Language / d. Metaphor
]
Full Idea
It is only when a sentence is taken to be false that we accept it as a metaphor.
Gist of Idea
We accept a metaphor when we see the sentence is false
Source
Donald Davidson (What Metaphors Mean [1978], p.40)
Book Ref
'On Metaphor', ed/tr. Sacks,Sheldon [Chicago 1981], p.40
A Reaction
This strikes me as a very nice and true generalisation, even though Davidson mentions "no man is an island" as a counterexample. We thirst for meaning, and switch to a second meaning when the first one looks peculiar.
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]
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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]
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