Overview

"The basic theme of this work is contained in the formula that metaphoric language reflects the functioning of our thought processes. Thus, the author uses language analysis as a medium through which we can perceive and analyze the way our mind functions. Results of the investigation point to the conclusion that the mind does not operate according to the representations of a logical-positivistically oriented theorist; the forms of language usage and mental mechanisms involved manifest ubiquitous nonliteralness. However, an overall metaphorical detour from the literal one-to-one correspondence is not for the sake of figurative fancy but is primarily for the purpose of achieving new significations. In such a context, that which is habitually considered to be ambiguous, vague and indeterminate, becomes a productive source of semantic creation which can often specify meaning in a more adequate way than literalness does. Metaphor emerges as a cognitive tool. It appears as an efficacious means of description and explanation, of heuristics and learning, and, as a final instance, an instrument of ""worldmaking"". Bearing in mind the significance of the ""metaphorical turn"", one can extend a conventional string of definitions with an additional characterization of a human being as a ""metaphorical animal""."

Full Product Details

Author:   Z. Radman
Publisher:   Springer
Imprint:   Springer
Edition:   1997 ed.
Volume:   4
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   1.040kg
ISBN:  

9780792343561

ISBN 10:   0792343565
Pages:   188
Publication Date:   31 December 1996
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1. The Limits of Literalness.- 2. The Polysemic Chain of Meaning.- 3. Difficulties With Diagnosing the Death of a Metaphor.- 4. The Metaphoric Measure Of Meaning in Science.- 5. How is Radically New Knowledge Possible? Or: Bridging the New and the Old in a Metaphorical Way.- 6. How to Make Our Ideas Clear With Metaphors.- 7. Toward a Metaphor-Body Problem.- 8. Artificial Intelligence and the Natural Body.- 9. Key-Metaphors: A Case of Cross-Contextual Cognition.- 10. Of Mind, Metaphysics and Other Matters.- 11. How to Make Worlds With Metaphors.- 12. Metaphorical Projections of Possible Worlds.- Afterthoughts.- Name Index.

Reviews

'Dr. Radman has presented in Metaphors: Figures of the Mind a clear, excellent account of how metaphor serves as a necessary cognitive key for all human intellectual activity. Radman properly embodies the mind exploring not only metaphorical accounts of mind, but also the metaphorizing, cognitive function of mind. He further examines the metaphorical claims of artificial intelligence and the use of Stephen Pepper's 'root metaphors' or 'key metaphors' as Radman calls them, to create worldviews. Radman draws on both contemporary accounts of metaphor and classical works. His text is rich with examples drawn from English and German writers. I highly recommend Radman's work for both readers familiar with the various controversies about metaphor and new readers unacquainted with this topic.' Earl R. MacCormac, Consulting Professor of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center 'Most discussions of metaphor tacitly assume that literal meaning is direct, precise, and unproblematic, while metaphorical meaning is indirect, vague, and fraught with semantic and epistemological difficulties. Zdravko Radman's Metaphors: Figures of the Mind undercuts this complacent assumption. It shows that literal meaning is an achievement that results from a series of explorations, elaborations, projections and refinements, many of them metaphorical.' Catherine Z. Elgin, Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University 'It is hardly an exaggeration to view the cognitive approach to metaphor as the emergence of a new paradigm: not only because the questions asked by the various scholars are now couched in radically different terms. For this reason, serious and well-informed syntheses are welcome, if one is to burrow one's way through the mountain of research and theories produced by 'metaphormania' of the nineteen eighties. In Metaphors: Figures of the Mind, Radman offers such a status quaestionis, and in addition traces paths of thought, investigation and application which take the reader beyond the bounds of mainstream metaphorology.' Jean-Pierre van Noppen, Professor of English Linguistics, Universite Libre de Bruxelles

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