Question

...
Chris

All thought is metaphorical

I've heard the claim "all thought is metaphorical"; I've heard almost as many times the following retort: "all thought is metaphorical is logically equivalent to saying 'no thought is metaphorical'".
However, I don't see a problem with the initial claim. I can imagine a scenario where someone demonstrates that at the root of our cognitive process (not biological) rest on some metaphorical mechanism to achieve what we call 'thought'. This doesn't seem trivial or meaningless.
asked on Tuesday, Sep 20, 2016 01:15:07 AM by Chris

Top Categories Suggested by Community

Comments

Want to get notified of all questions as they are asked? Update your mail preferences and turn on "Instant Notification."

Eat Meat... Or Don't.

Roughly 95% of Americans don’t appear to have an ethical problem with animals being killed for food, yet all of us would have a serious problem with humans being killed for food. What does an animal lack that a human has that justifies killing the animal for food but not the human?

As you start to list properties that the animal lacks to justify eating them, you begin to realize that some humans also lack those properties, yet we don’t eat those humans. Is this logical proof that killing and eating animals for food is immoral? Don’t put away your steak knife just yet.

In Eat Meat… Or Don’t, we examine the moral arguments for and against eating meat with both philosophical and scientific rigor. This book is not about pushing some ideological agenda; it’s ultimately a book about critical thinking.

Get 20% off this book and all Bo's books*. Use the promotion code: websiteusers

* This is for the author's bookstore only. Applies to autographed hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.

Get the Book

Answers

...
Bo Bennett, PhD
0
"Something is metaphorical when you use it to stand for, or symbolize, another thing" is the definition that would best be applied here. So without being extremely argumentative and difficult, one would have to agree here. As for it being the same as "no thought is metaphorical," this would need explanation. Perhaps it is just me, but I see no connection here. It seems like a simple unjustified claim.
answered on Tuesday, Sep 20, 2016 07:05:38 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

Comments

...
Frank
0
I believe that the person submitting the question intended 'all thought is metaphysical,' which is part of the claim by many Christian apologists that the mind and consciousness cannot have a natural origin in the brain proposing a form of necessary dualism.

If this is the case the proposal is 'begging the question' assuming the lack of objective evidence that ALL consciousness, thought and mind originate naturally from the brain, therefore the the origin of consciousness and the mind must be metaphysical.
answered on Tuesday, Sep 20, 2016 08:29:12 AM by Frank

Comments