Struan and Denis:
The case of the man locked in a room is not a metaphor. You could call it a
hypothetical situation, an example or even a philosophical story problem,
but it is certainly NOT a metaphor. Metaphors are words or phrases used to
describe something by its similarity to something else, but UNLIKE a
hypothetical example or an apt analogy, metaphors simply CAN NOT be taken
literally. That is to say that a literal interpetation of a metaphor isn't
possible. That's how you know you're dealing with a metaphor. Metaphors are
condensed or distilled thought. They require a kind of poetic understanding.
They're about depth rather than sharpness or clarity. But the case of the
man in the locked room is neither deep, nor sharp nor clear.. Its just a bad
hypothetical.
In any case, I think we should be clear about what a metaphor is and how to
"read" them. Maybe it's just Struan who's misconstruan, but I thought it'd
be worth a few words of exploration anyway.
If I may presume to instruct on such a matter...
I wasn't too surprized to discover that metaphors and their use have been
the topic of conversation in philosophy as well as literature and the arts.
It also plays a large role in psychology, mythology, religion and most human
things...Pirsig's MOQ is given to us in fictional form and both books are
filled with metaphors. How about DQ? How about the dance of Lila? Now
there's a metaphor worth pondering!
Peter is a rock. The kingdom of heaven is a mustard seed. New York City is a
Giant.
These are metaphors. Taken literally, they make no sense at all. The imagery
employed in a metaphor forces us to recognize that its' meaning must be
understood in a non-literal way. Yet we can understanding the meaning.
For example, if I say "Struan is a spoiled child throwing sand in the eyes
of others." we know this can't be taken as literal fact. There is no
sandbox. There is no sand. Struan is apparently past the age of consent too,
but we understand what the statement means nevertheless. It refers the the
painful and blinding effect of Struan's conduct here. It expresses the
immaturity we see in Struan's insulting evasions. It describes a
mean-spirited and disruptive force where there ought to be fun and
co-operation. It has meaning and perhaps its even truthful.
Not to get too technical about it, but the simplest way to make a
distinction between metaphors and analogies or other forms of comparison is
to look for the word "like". For example, if I say that "Struan IS a black
hole sucking in all the light", that is a metaphor. If I say "Struan is LIKE
a tornado of hostile non-sense", then that is an analogy. See the
difference? IS and LIKE.
It can be tricky, however, because the real difference is that with
metaphors, the object of description becomes that description, as in
"Struan's answers ARE frog snot". An analogy, on the other hand, is
comparing two different things, as in "Struan's answers are slicker than
frog snot". Here we know that two different things are being compared, even
though the word "like" is not present. The phrase "slicker than" indicates
comparison just as well.
LIKE and IS, that's the difference, whether its explicit or not.
Thanks for your time....DMB
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