Elephant,
from merriam-webster (online):
continuous: marked by uninterrupted extension in space, time, or sequence.
discrete: noncontinuous
I was not saying that the discrete/continuous distinction is metaphorical in se,
just that applying continuous to "reality" and discrete to "language" is
metaphorical. Looks like a physical metaphor to me.
Of course it is pretty hard to define metaphor in general. Nevertheless, it
seems to me that when you reason about
metaphysics thinking in physics (space, time, and so forth) you are using a
metaphor.
It is surely possible to reason about abstract concepts in terms of their
abstract definitions, maybe mathematicians sometimes do, and maybe philosophers
as well. But I then would like to know how often does this happen, if it happens
at all, or whatever. Since defining metaphor in general is hard, it would
suffice for me to narrow the question to "patent" metaphors (such as those taken
from physical reality). I wonder, also, whether a reasoning w/out metaphors
actually feels like "reasoning" or just like "manipulation of symbols" (no
meanings and no *value* attached).
Puzzled me too
Andrea
elephant ha scritto:
> Notes to Andrea, Chris, Bard, Roger,
>
> Andrea, care to tell us how the discrete/continuous distinction is
> "metaphorical?"
>
> (I asked you and all what "metaphor" meant and you've been rushing ahead to
> answer a different question, i.e. whether you'd call MOQ metaphorical.
> Seems to me I can never understand your answer to this second question until
> I have an idea about what you think on the first.)
>
> Chris, what does this mean: "Metaphor enables us to describe qualitative
> differences in a general 'sameness'."?
>
> Bard, I agree that no lived truth can be understood as *merely* metaphor -
> but this does rather demand that we say what metaphor really *is*, if we
> want to say (for example) that I Ching isn't merely metaphor. This was my
> initial question.
>
> Roger - like to have your thoughts on my own positive proposals about
> metaphor (completly overlooked by other postings).
>
> toodlepip
>
> Elephant
>
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