Andrews Reath
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288830
- eISBN:
- 9780191603648
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288836.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This book contains chapters on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on a conception of rational agency autonomy. The opening chapters explore ...
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This book contains chapters on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on a conception of rational agency autonomy. The opening chapters explore different elements of Kant's views about motivation, including an account of respect for morality as the distinctive moral motive and a view of the principle of happiness as a representation of the shared structure of non-moral choice. These chapters stress the unity of Kant's moral psychology by arguing that moral and non-moral considerations motivate in essentially the same way. Several of the chapters develop an original approach to Kant's conception of autonomy that emphasizes the political metaphors found throughout Kant's writings on ethics. They argue that autonomy is best interpreted not as a psychological capacity, but as a kind of sovereignty: in claiming that moral agents have autonomy, Kant regards them as a kind of sovereign legislator with the power to give moral law through their willing. The final chapters explore some of the implications of this conception of autonomy elsewhere in Kant's moral thought, arguing that his Formula of Universal Law uses this conception of autonomy to generate substantive moral principles and exploring the connection between Kantian self-legislation and duties to oneself.Less
This book contains chapters on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on a conception of rational agency autonomy. The opening chapters explore different elements of Kant's views about motivation, including an account of respect for morality as the distinctive moral motive and a view of the principle of happiness as a representation of the shared structure of non-moral choice. These chapters stress the unity of Kant's moral psychology by arguing that moral and non-moral considerations motivate in essentially the same way. Several of the chapters develop an original approach to Kant's conception of autonomy that emphasizes the political metaphors found throughout Kant's writings on ethics. They argue that autonomy is best interpreted not as a psychological capacity, but as a kind of sovereignty: in claiming that moral agents have autonomy, Kant regards them as a kind of sovereign legislator with the power to give moral law through their willing. The final chapters explore some of the implications of this conception of autonomy elsewhere in Kant's moral thought, arguing that his Formula of Universal Law uses this conception of autonomy to generate substantive moral principles and exploring the connection between Kantian self-legislation and duties to oneself.
Jonathan Klawans
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195162639
- eISBN:
- 9780199785254
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195162639.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book reevaluates modern scholarly approaches to ancient Jewish cultic rituals, arguing that sacrifice in particular has been long misunderstood. Various religious and cultural ideologies ...
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This book reevaluates modern scholarly approaches to ancient Jewish cultic rituals, arguing that sacrifice in particular has been long misunderstood. Various religious and cultural ideologies (especially supersessionist ones) have frequently prevented scholars from seeing the Jerusalem temple as a powerful source of meaning and symbolism to those ancient Jews who worshiped there. Such approaches are exposed and countered by reviewing the theoretical literature on sacrifice and taking a fresh look at a broad range of evidence concerning ancient Jewish attitudes toward the temple and its sacrificial cult. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, this work argues for a symbolic understanding of a broad range of cultic practices, including both purity rituals and sacrificial acts. The prophetic literature is also reexamined, with an eye toward clarifying the relationship between the prophets and the sacrificial cult. Later ancient Jewish symbolic understandings of the cult are also revealed in sources including Josephus, Philo, Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Rabbinic literature. A number of ancient Jews certainly did believe that the temple was temporarily tainted or defiled in some fashion, including the Dead Sea sectarians and Jesus. But they continued to speak of the temple in metaphorical terms, and — like practically all ancient Jews — believed in the cult, accepted its symbolic significance, and hoped for its ultimate efficacy.Less
This book reevaluates modern scholarly approaches to ancient Jewish cultic rituals, arguing that sacrifice in particular has been long misunderstood. Various religious and cultural ideologies (especially supersessionist ones) have frequently prevented scholars from seeing the Jerusalem temple as a powerful source of meaning and symbolism to those ancient Jews who worshiped there. Such approaches are exposed and countered by reviewing the theoretical literature on sacrifice and taking a fresh look at a broad range of evidence concerning ancient Jewish attitudes toward the temple and its sacrificial cult. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, this work argues for a symbolic understanding of a broad range of cultic practices, including both purity rituals and sacrificial acts. The prophetic literature is also reexamined, with an eye toward clarifying the relationship between the prophets and the sacrificial cult. Later ancient Jewish symbolic understandings of the cult are also revealed in sources including Josephus, Philo, Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Rabbinic literature. A number of ancient Jews certainly did believe that the temple was temporarily tainted or defiled in some fashion, including the Dead Sea sectarians and Jesus. But they continued to speak of the temple in metaphorical terms, and — like practically all ancient Jews — believed in the cult, accepted its symbolic significance, and hoped for its ultimate efficacy.
Jonathan Sinclair-Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0023
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Tipping points are troublesome metaphors. They may be more the products of our own imagination than any possible reality. Confusion and uncertainty, together with the possible suddenness and ...
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Tipping points are troublesome metaphors. They may be more the products of our own imagination than any possible reality. Confusion and uncertainty, together with the possible suddenness and catastrophe, make our imaginings even more lurid. We depend on models but more so because they are the only ones we use to predict. We may reach a state of justifiable alarm, but this is not a recipe for purposeful collective action. What is now required is a sense of common humanity which instils hope and courage and a sense that a better future is still within our grasp.Less
Tipping points are troublesome metaphors. They may be more the products of our own imagination than any possible reality. Confusion and uncertainty, together with the possible suddenness and catastrophe, make our imaginings even more lurid. We depend on models but more so because they are the only ones we use to predict. We may reach a state of justifiable alarm, but this is not a recipe for purposeful collective action. What is now required is a sense of common humanity which instils hope and courage and a sense that a better future is still within our grasp.
Sam Glucksberg
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195111095
- eISBN:
- 9780199872107
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111095.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
The book presents a comprehensive account of how people understand metaphors and idioms in everyday discourse. Traditionally, figurative language has been considered to be derived from and more ...
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The book presents a comprehensive account of how people understand metaphors and idioms in everyday discourse. Traditionally, figurative language has been considered to be derived from and more complex than literal language. The book presents an alternative view, arguing that figurative language makes use of the same kinds of linguistic and pragmatic operations that are used for literal language. A new theory of metaphor comprehension integrates linguistic, philosophical, and psychological perspectives to account for figurative language use. The theory's central tenet is that everyday conversational metaphors are used spontaneously to create new concepts and categories. Metaphor is special only in the sense that metaphorical categories are salient examples of the things that they represent. These categories get their names from the best examples of those categories. Thus, the literal “shark” can be a metaphor for any vicious and predatory creature. Because the same term, “shark”, is used for both its literal referent and for the metaphorical category, as in “my lawyer is a shark”, such terms have dual-reference. In this way, metaphors simultaneously refer to the abstract metaphorical category and to the most salient literal exemplar of that category, as in the expression “boys (literal) will be boys (metaphorical)”. The book concludes with a comprehensive treatment of idiom use, and an analysis and critique (written by Matthew McGlone) of conceptual metaphor in the context of how people understand both conventional and novel figurative expressions.Less
The book presents a comprehensive account of how people understand metaphors and idioms in everyday discourse. Traditionally, figurative language has been considered to be derived from and more complex than literal language. The book presents an alternative view, arguing that figurative language makes use of the same kinds of linguistic and pragmatic operations that are used for literal language. A new theory of metaphor comprehension integrates linguistic, philosophical, and psychological perspectives to account for figurative language use. The theory's central tenet is that everyday conversational metaphors are used spontaneously to create new concepts and categories. Metaphor is special only in the sense that metaphorical categories are salient examples of the things that they represent. These categories get their names from the best examples of those categories. Thus, the literal “shark” can be a metaphor for any vicious and predatory creature. Because the same term, “shark”, is used for both its literal referent and for the metaphorical category, as in “my lawyer is a shark”, such terms have dual-reference. In this way, metaphors simultaneously refer to the abstract metaphorical category and to the most salient literal exemplar of that category, as in the expression “boys (literal) will be boys (metaphorical)”. The book concludes with a comprehensive treatment of idiom use, and an analysis and critique (written by Matthew McGlone) of conceptual metaphor in the context of how people understand both conventional and novel figurative expressions.
Malcolm Budd
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199556175
- eISBN:
- 9780191721151
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199556175.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
The book contains a selection of essays on aesthetics, some of which have been revised or added to. A number of the essays are aimed at the abstract heart of aesthetics, attempting to solve a cluster ...
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The book contains a selection of essays on aesthetics, some of which have been revised or added to. A number of the essays are aimed at the abstract heart of aesthetics, attempting to solve a cluster of the most important issues in aesthetics which are not specific to particular art forms. These include the nature and proper scope of the aesthetic, the intersubjective validity of aesthetic judgements, the correct understanding of aesthetic judgements expressed through metaphors, aesthetic realism versus anti-realism, the character of aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic value, the aim of art, and the artistic expression of emotion. Others are focussed on central issues in the aesthetics of particular art forms: two engage with the most fundamental issue in the aesthetics of music, the question of the correct conception of the phenomenology of the experience of listening to music with understanding; and two consider the nature of pictorial representation, one examining the well-known views of Ernst Gombich, Richard Wollheim, and Kendall Walton, the other articulating an alternative conception of seeing a picture as a depiction of a certain state of affairs. The final essay in the book is a comprehensive reconstruction and critical examination of Wittgenstein's aesthetics, both early and late.Less
The book contains a selection of essays on aesthetics, some of which have been revised or added to. A number of the essays are aimed at the abstract heart of aesthetics, attempting to solve a cluster of the most important issues in aesthetics which are not specific to particular art forms. These include the nature and proper scope of the aesthetic, the intersubjective validity of aesthetic judgements, the correct understanding of aesthetic judgements expressed through metaphors, aesthetic realism versus anti-realism, the character of aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic value, the aim of art, and the artistic expression of emotion. Others are focussed on central issues in the aesthetics of particular art forms: two engage with the most fundamental issue in the aesthetics of music, the question of the correct conception of the phenomenology of the experience of listening to music with understanding; and two consider the nature of pictorial representation, one examining the well-known views of Ernst Gombich, Richard Wollheim, and Kendall Walton, the other articulating an alternative conception of seeing a picture as a depiction of a certain state of affairs. The final essay in the book is a comprehensive reconstruction and critical examination of Wittgenstein's aesthetics, both early and late.
Bernard Cooke
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195174519
- eISBN:
- 9780199835119
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195174518.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of ...
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Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of social scientific and psychological analysis. The book then relates the divine Spirit power to each of these instances of power: force and violence, fear, official and religious authority, law, wealth, images and symbols, language, teaching, sexuality, friendship and love. Finally, as a synthesizing metaphor to help gain insight into the divine outreach, i.e. the Spirit of God, the author uses the experience of a human embrace, examining this with a phenomenological hermeneutic and correlating it to the various forms of power studied.Less
Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of social scientific and psychological analysis. The book then relates the divine Spirit power to each of these instances of power: force and violence, fear, official and religious authority, law, wealth, images and symbols, language, teaching, sexuality, friendship and love. Finally, as a synthesizing metaphor to help gain insight into the divine outreach, i.e. the Spirit of God, the author uses the experience of a human embrace, examining this with a phenomenological hermeneutic and correlating it to the various forms of power studied.
Saint Augustine
R. P. H. Green (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263340
- eISBN:
- 9780191601125
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263341.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This is a completely new translation of the work that Augustine wrote to guide the Christian on how to interpret Scripture and communicate it to others, a kind of do‐it‐yourself manual for ...
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This is a completely new translation of the work that Augustine wrote to guide the Christian on how to interpret Scripture and communicate it to others, a kind of do‐it‐yourself manual for discovering what the Bible teaches and passing it on. Begun at the same time as his famous Confessions, but not completed until some thirty years later, it gives fascinating insight into many sides of his thinking, not least on the value of the traditional education of which the Confessions gives such a poor impression. Augustine begins by relating his theme to the love (and enjoyment) of God and the love of one's neighbour, and then proceeds to develop a theory of signs with which he can analyse the nature of difficulties in scripture. In studying unknown signs, Augustine finds a place for some disciplines enshrined in traditional culture and the school curriculum but not all; as for ambiguous signs, he carefully explores various kinds of problems, such as that of distinguishing the figurative from the literal, and has recourse to the hermeneutic system of the Donatist Tyconius. In the fourth and last book, he discusses how to communicate scriptural teaching, drawing on a lifetime of experience but also making notable use of the writings on rhetoric of Cicero, the classical orator. The translation is equipped with an introduction that discusses the work's aims and circumstances, outlines its contents and significance, commenting briefly on the manuscripts from which the Latin text – which is also provided in this volume – is derived, and also brief explanatory notes. There is a select bibliography of useful and approachable modern criticism of this important work.Less
This is a completely new translation of the work that Augustine wrote to guide the Christian on how to interpret Scripture and communicate it to others, a kind of do‐it‐yourself manual for discovering what the Bible teaches and passing it on. Begun at the same time as his famous Confessions, but not completed until some thirty years later, it gives fascinating insight into many sides of his thinking, not least on the value of the traditional education of which the Confessions gives such a poor impression. Augustine begins by relating his theme to the love (and enjoyment) of God and the love of one's neighbour, and then proceeds to develop a theory of signs with which he can analyse the nature of difficulties in scripture. In studying unknown signs, Augustine finds a place for some disciplines enshrined in traditional culture and the school curriculum but not all; as for ambiguous signs, he carefully explores various kinds of problems, such as that of distinguishing the figurative from the literal, and has recourse to the hermeneutic system of the Donatist Tyconius. In the fourth and last book, he discusses how to communicate scriptural teaching, drawing on a lifetime of experience but also making notable use of the writings on rhetoric of Cicero, the classical orator. The translation is equipped with an introduction that discusses the work's aims and circumstances, outlines its contents and significance, commenting briefly on the manuscripts from which the Latin text – which is also provided in this volume – is derived, and also brief explanatory notes. There is a select bibliography of useful and approachable modern criticism of this important work.
G. R. Boys-Stones
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199240050
- eISBN:
- 9780191716850
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199240050.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Ancient theories of metaphor and allegory are more sophisticated than we normally think. If we suppose they were viewed merely as decorative ‘tropes’, that is because we rely too heavily on the ...
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Ancient theories of metaphor and allegory are more sophisticated than we normally think. If we suppose they were viewed merely as decorative ‘tropes’, that is because we rely too heavily on the evidence of rhetorical handbooks without considering the restrictions implied by that context. The case of allegory provides a good way into reassessing the theory of ‘tropes’, because the philosophical approach to its use is so clearly at odds with the rhetoricians’ definition of it as ‘extended metaphor’.Less
Ancient theories of metaphor and allegory are more sophisticated than we normally think. If we suppose they were viewed merely as decorative ‘tropes’, that is because we rely too heavily on the evidence of rhetorical handbooks without considering the restrictions implied by that context. The case of allegory provides a good way into reassessing the theory of ‘tropes’, because the philosophical approach to its use is so clearly at odds with the rhetoricians’ definition of it as ‘extended metaphor’.
Bernard J. Baars
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195102659
- eISBN:
- 9780199864126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195102659.003.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Sensory and Motor Systems, Behavioral Neuroscience
This chapter presents a brief discussion of the aim of the book. It compares Plato's thoughts on consciousness with that of Frank Crick, arguing that both appear to reflect the same underlying ...
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This chapter presents a brief discussion of the aim of the book. It compares Plato's thoughts on consciousness with that of Frank Crick, arguing that both appear to reflect the same underlying metaphor of our personal experience, the theater metaphor. The importance of theater metaphors to scientists is considered.Less
This chapter presents a brief discussion of the aim of the book. It compares Plato's thoughts on consciousness with that of Frank Crick, arguing that both appear to reflect the same underlying metaphor of our personal experience, the theater metaphor. The importance of theater metaphors to scientists is considered.
Stephen Yablo
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199266487
- eISBN:
- 9780191594274
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266487.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This book contains a collection of twelve metaphysical chapters that address a range of first-order topics, including identity, coincidence, essence, causation, and properties. Some first-order ...
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This book contains a collection of twelve metaphysical chapters that address a range of first-order topics, including identity, coincidence, essence, causation, and properties. Some first-order debates are not worth pursuing, the book argues; there is nothing at issue in them. Several of the chapters explore the metaontology of abstract objects, and more generally of objects that are ‘preconceived’, their principal features being settled already by their job-descriptions. The book rejects standard forms of fictionalism, opting ultimately for a view that puts presupposition in the role normally played by pretense.Less
This book contains a collection of twelve metaphysical chapters that address a range of first-order topics, including identity, coincidence, essence, causation, and properties. Some first-order debates are not worth pursuing, the book argues; there is nothing at issue in them. Several of the chapters explore the metaontology of abstract objects, and more generally of objects that are ‘preconceived’, their principal features being settled already by their job-descriptions. The book rejects standard forms of fictionalism, opting ultimately for a view that puts presupposition in the role normally played by pretense.
Edward Nye
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198160120
- eISBN:
- 9780191673788
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198160120.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, Criticism/Theory
‘Linguistic’ theories in the 18th century are also theories of literature and art, and it is probably better, therefore, to think of them as ‘aesthetic’ theories. As such, they are answers to the ...
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‘Linguistic’ theories in the 18th century are also theories of literature and art, and it is probably better, therefore, to think of them as ‘aesthetic’ theories. As such, they are answers to the age-old question ‘What is beauty?’, but formulated, also, to respond to contemporary concerns. This book considers a wide range of authors from these two perspectives and draws the following conclusions: etymology is a theory of poetry; dictionaries of synonymy, prosody, and metaphor are theories of preciosity; and Sensualism is a theory of artistic representation. The background to these contentions is outlined in Chapter One, in which the book traces the rise of the term ‘nuances’ as an attempt by contemporary authors to understand representation in art as a rationalisation of chaotic reality. The demise of these contentions at the end of the century is described in the last chapter, in which the dominant language theory of the day is shown to be antagonistic to the study of art and literature. Theories of language are no longer an answer to the question ‘What is beauty?’Less
‘Linguistic’ theories in the 18th century are also theories of literature and art, and it is probably better, therefore, to think of them as ‘aesthetic’ theories. As such, they are answers to the age-old question ‘What is beauty?’, but formulated, also, to respond to contemporary concerns. This book considers a wide range of authors from these two perspectives and draws the following conclusions: etymology is a theory of poetry; dictionaries of synonymy, prosody, and metaphor are theories of preciosity; and Sensualism is a theory of artistic representation. The background to these contentions is outlined in Chapter One, in which the book traces the rise of the term ‘nuances’ as an attempt by contemporary authors to understand representation in art as a rationalisation of chaotic reality. The demise of these contentions at the end of the century is described in the last chapter, in which the dominant language theory of the day is shown to be antagonistic to the study of art and literature. Theories of language are no longer an answer to the question ‘What is beauty?’
Megan Perigoe Stitt
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198184423
- eISBN:
- 9780191674242
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198184423.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
From the beginning of the 19th century, the emerging study of language shared with geology certain metaphors — co-existing but mutually incompatible — to describe theories of change. The Tower of ...
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From the beginning of the 19th century, the emerging study of language shared with geology certain metaphors — co-existing but mutually incompatible — to describe theories of change. The Tower of Babel, Rise and Fall, Line and Branch were ideas that fed both disciplines; and linguistic study sometimes drew its imagery directly from geology, comparing varieties of language to fossils marking layers of development. At the same time, tension arose between the concept of language as a fixed sign and the wish to endorse it as a tool for change, an unpredictable maker of history. This book looks in detail at three authors — Walter Scott, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Charles Kingsley — whose handling of language, and in particular of dialect speech, demonstrates different angles of approach, and puts fiction into dialogue with science. Through textual analysis of the novels, and examination of contemporary scientific discourse, the book throws light on how different genres affected the century's use of metaphor and its often contradictory theories of progress.Less
From the beginning of the 19th century, the emerging study of language shared with geology certain metaphors — co-existing but mutually incompatible — to describe theories of change. The Tower of Babel, Rise and Fall, Line and Branch were ideas that fed both disciplines; and linguistic study sometimes drew its imagery directly from geology, comparing varieties of language to fossils marking layers of development. At the same time, tension arose between the concept of language as a fixed sign and the wish to endorse it as a tool for change, an unpredictable maker of history. This book looks in detail at three authors — Walter Scott, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Charles Kingsley — whose handling of language, and in particular of dialect speech, demonstrates different angles of approach, and puts fiction into dialogue with science. Through textual analysis of the novels, and examination of contemporary scientific discourse, the book throws light on how different genres affected the century's use of metaphor and its often contradictory theories of progress.
Caroline Franks Davis
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250012
- eISBN:
- 9780191681233
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250012.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically ...
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This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically addresses underlying philosophical issues such as the role of interpretation in experience, the function of models and metaphors in religious language, and the way perceptual experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. The book examines several arguments from religious experience and, using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, gives an account of the different types of experience. To meet sceptical challenges to religious experience, the book draws extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical and religious literature, probing deeply into questions such as whether religious experiences are merely a matter of interpretation, whether there is irreducible conflict among religious experiences, and whether psychological and other reductionist explanations of religious experience are satisfactory. The book concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources.Less
This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically addresses underlying philosophical issues such as the role of interpretation in experience, the function of models and metaphors in religious language, and the way perceptual experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. The book examines several arguments from religious experience and, using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, gives an account of the different types of experience. To meet sceptical challenges to religious experience, the book draws extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical and religious literature, probing deeply into questions such as whether religious experiences are merely a matter of interpretation, whether there is irreducible conflict among religious experiences, and whether psychological and other reductionist explanations of religious experience are satisfactory. The book concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources.
Samuel Guttenplan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199280896
- eISBN:
- 9780191602627
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199280894.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Objects of Metaphor offers a philosophical account of the phenomenon of metaphor which is radically different from others in the literature. Yet for all its difference, the underlying ...
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Objects of Metaphor offers a philosophical account of the phenomenon of metaphor which is radically different from others in the literature. Yet for all its difference, the underlying rationale of the account is genuinely ecumenical. If one adopts its perspective, one should be able to understand the substantial correctness of many other accounts, while at the same time seeing why they are not in the end completely correct. The origins of the account lie in an examination of the conception of predication. Unreflectively thought of as a task accomplished by words, it is argued that predication, or something very much like it, can also be accomplished by non-word objects (‘objects’ here include events, states of affairs, situations, actions and the like). Liberated in this way from words, predication becomes one central element in the account of metaphor. The other element is the move from language to objects which, adapting an idea of Quine’s, is thought of as the limiting case of semantic descent. Whilst the Objects of Metaphor account presents other accounts in a new light, its main importance lies in what it says about metaphor itself. Powerful and flexible enough to cope with the syntactic complexity typical of genuine metaphor, it offers novel conceptions of both the relationship between simile and metaphor and the notion of dead metaphor. Additionally, it shows why metaphor is a robust theoretic kind, related to other tropes such as synecdoche and metonymy, but not to be confused with tropes generally, or with the figurative and non-literal.Less
Objects of Metaphor offers a philosophical account of the phenomenon of metaphor which is radically different from others in the literature. Yet for all its difference, the underlying rationale of the account is genuinely ecumenical. If one adopts its perspective, one should be able to understand the substantial correctness of many other accounts, while at the same time seeing why they are not in the end completely correct. The origins of the account lie in an examination of the conception of predication. Unreflectively thought of as a task accomplished by words, it is argued that predication, or something very much like it, can also be accomplished by non-word objects (‘objects’ here include events, states of affairs, situations, actions and the like). Liberated in this way from words, predication becomes one central element in the account of metaphor. The other element is the move from language to objects which, adapting an idea of Quine’s, is thought of as the limiting case of semantic descent. Whilst the Objects of Metaphor account presents other accounts in a new light, its main importance lies in what it says about metaphor itself. Powerful and flexible enough to cope with the syntactic complexity typical of genuine metaphor, it offers novel conceptions of both the relationship between simile and metaphor and the notion of dead metaphor. Additionally, it shows why metaphor is a robust theoretic kind, related to other tropes such as synecdoche and metonymy, but not to be confused with tropes generally, or with the figurative and non-literal.
A. E. Denham
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198240105
- eISBN:
- 9780191680076
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198240105.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Moral Philosophy
This book examines the parallels between moral and metaphorical discourse, and the ways in which our engagement with literary art, and metaphorical discourse in particular, informs our moral beliefs. ...
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This book examines the parallels between moral and metaphorical discourse, and the ways in which our engagement with literary art, and metaphorical discourse in particular, informs our moral beliefs. It suggests that there are three ways in which one's beliefs can be improved: if more of them are true, if more of them are warranted or justified, or if the warrant or justification for some of them is strengthened. So the book considers whether and how such improvements can be made to moral beliefs, and what role metaphor can play. It is an integral aim of the work to discern to what extent moral and metaphorical discourses deserve to be regarded as cognitive at all. This involves investigating to what extent such discourses are capable of truth or falsehood, warrant or justification, and how it is that we understand moral judgements and metaphorical expressions. This investigation is founded on an account of the nature of value and of our experience of value.Less
This book examines the parallels between moral and metaphorical discourse, and the ways in which our engagement with literary art, and metaphorical discourse in particular, informs our moral beliefs. It suggests that there are three ways in which one's beliefs can be improved: if more of them are true, if more of them are warranted or justified, or if the warrant or justification for some of them is strengthened. So the book considers whether and how such improvements can be made to moral beliefs, and what role metaphor can play. It is an integral aim of the work to discern to what extent moral and metaphorical discourses deserve to be regarded as cognitive at all. This involves investigating to what extent such discourses are capable of truth or falsehood, warrant or justification, and how it is that we understand moral judgements and metaphorical expressions. This investigation is founded on an account of the nature of value and of our experience of value.
Pieter A. M. Seuren
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199559473
- eISBN:
- 9780191721137
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199559473.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
This chapter concentrates on the problems posed by lexical meanings for any formal theory. Among the topics discussed are the noncompositionality of compound meanings, vagueness phenomena, the ...
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This chapter concentrates on the problems posed by lexical meanings for any formal theory. Among the topics discussed are the noncompositionality of compound meanings, vagueness phenomena, the nonintersectivity of adjectives, presuppositional aspects of lexical meaning, metaphor, polysemy, built‐in cognitive parameters and intrinsically higher‐order predicates.Less
This chapter concentrates on the problems posed by lexical meanings for any formal theory. Among the topics discussed are the noncompositionality of compound meanings, vagueness phenomena, the nonintersectivity of adjectives, presuppositional aspects of lexical meaning, metaphor, polysemy, built‐in cognitive parameters and intrinsically higher‐order predicates.
Timothy O'Riordan and Timothy Lenton (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This book places tipping points in their scientific, economic,
governmental, creative, and spiritual contexts. It seeks to offer a comprehensive set of
...
More
This book places tipping points in their scientific, economic,
governmental, creative, and spiritual contexts. It seeks to offer a comprehensive set of
interpretations on the meaning and application of tipping points. Its contribution focuses on the
various characterisations and metaphors of tipping points, on the scope for anticipating their
onset, the capacity for societal resilience in the face of their impending arrival, and for better
ways of communicating and preparing societies, economies, and governments for accommodating them,
and hence to turn them into responses which buffer and better human well-being. Above all, the
possibility of preparing society for creative and benign ‘tips’ is a unifying theme. The conclusion
is sombre but not without hope. Thresholds of profound change can combine earth system-based
relatively abrupt shifts with human-caused alterations of these disturbed patterns which, coupled
together, produce more rapid onsets and greater tensions and stresses for governments and economies,
as well as socially unequal societies. There is still time to predict and address these thresholds
but too much delay will make the task of accommodation very difficult to achieve with relevant-scale
community support. There are many examples of adaptive resilience throughout the world. These should
be identified, supported, and emulated according to cultural acceptance and emerging economic
realities. But there is no guarantee that the necessary adjustments can be made in time, as emerging
patterns of outlook and governance do not appear to be conducive to manage the very awkward
transitions of appropriate response.Less
This book places tipping points in their scientific, economic,
governmental, creative, and spiritual contexts. It seeks to offer a comprehensive set of
interpretations on the meaning and application of tipping points. Its contribution focuses on the
various characterisations and metaphors of tipping points, on the scope for anticipating their
onset, the capacity for societal resilience in the face of their impending arrival, and for better
ways of communicating and preparing societies, economies, and governments for accommodating them,
and hence to turn them into responses which buffer and better human well-being. Above all, the
possibility of preparing society for creative and benign ‘tips’ is a unifying theme. The conclusion
is sombre but not without hope. Thresholds of profound change can combine earth system-based
relatively abrupt shifts with human-caused alterations of these disturbed patterns which, coupled
together, produce more rapid onsets and greater tensions and stresses for governments and economies,
as well as socially unequal societies. There is still time to predict and address these thresholds
but too much delay will make the task of accommodation very difficult to achieve with relevant-scale
community support. There are many examples of adaptive resilience throughout the world. These should
be identified, supported, and emulated according to cultural acceptance and emerging economic
realities. But there is no guarantee that the necessary adjustments can be made in time, as emerging
patterns of outlook and governance do not appear to be conducive to manage the very awkward
transitions of appropriate response.
A. E. Denham
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198240105
- eISBN:
- 9780191680076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198240105.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Moral Philosophy
This book explores questions regarding the metaphysics of morals and moral epistemology, as well as questions in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. In particular, it addresses the ...
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This book explores questions regarding the metaphysics of morals and moral epistemology, as well as questions in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. In particular, it addresses the theory of metaphor. Art and morality are related in more than one dimension, but this book considers only one of these dimensions: the way in which works of art inform one's moral beliefs. The discussion is confined further to literary art alone, and that only, or almost only, in connection with one common feature of literary art, namely, the use of metaphor. The book examines in what way may one's engagement with literary art, and more particularly metaphorical discourse, informs his/her moral beliefs. The answer to that question can be extended to other features of literary discourse and indeed to other art forms.Less
This book explores questions regarding the metaphysics of morals and moral epistemology, as well as questions in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. In particular, it addresses the theory of metaphor. Art and morality are related in more than one dimension, but this book considers only one of these dimensions: the way in which works of art inform one's moral beliefs. The discussion is confined further to literary art alone, and that only, or almost only, in connection with one common feature of literary art, namely, the use of metaphor. The book examines in what way may one's engagement with literary art, and more particularly metaphorical discourse, informs his/her moral beliefs. The answer to that question can be extended to other features of literary discourse and indeed to other art forms.
Melchisedec TÖrÖnen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296118
- eISBN:
- 9780191712258
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296118.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Introduces the various images and metaphors of Maximian theology. These are metaphors that describe the reality of simultaneous union and distinction, and of oneness and multiplicity. The following ...
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Introduces the various images and metaphors of Maximian theology. These are metaphors that describe the reality of simultaneous union and distinction, and of oneness and multiplicity. The following imagery is examined: fire and light; the deified human person; body and soul; circle, centre, and radii; multiple lights, single illumination; stone and colours.Less
Introduces the various images and metaphors of Maximian theology. These are metaphors that describe the reality of simultaneous union and distinction, and of oneness and multiplicity. The following imagery is examined: fire and light; the deified human person; body and soul; circle, centre, and radii; multiple lights, single illumination; stone and colours.
Tim O’Riordan, Tim Lenton, and Ian Christie
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Tipping points are metaphors of sudden change, of fear, of falling, of foreboding, and of failure. Tipping points are thresholds of tolerance, of bifurcation, and of transformation which are built ...
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Tipping points are metaphors of sudden change, of fear, of falling, of foreboding, and of failure. Tipping points are thresholds of tolerance, of bifurcation, and of transformation which are built into complex systems of transformation. Sudden change can arise from earth system phase changes (for example in the condition of ice, ocean acidity, drying of the tropical forests and the onset of monsoons). But they can also depict rapid shifts in geopolitics, local and regional conflicts, and in economic performance with implications for the well-being of societies all over the globe. The patterns of suddenness and aftermath of physical and socio-economic systems vary greatly. Tipping points can lead to unintended worsening, to induced vulnerabilities, to chaos and confusion in communication, and to the scope for restorative redirection. The scope for benign transformation is an intrinsic aspect of the tipping point metaphor.Less
Tipping points are metaphors of sudden change, of fear, of falling, of foreboding, and of failure. Tipping points are thresholds of tolerance, of bifurcation, and of transformation which are built into complex systems of transformation. Sudden change can arise from earth system phase changes (for example in the condition of ice, ocean acidity, drying of the tropical forests and the onset of monsoons). But they can also depict rapid shifts in geopolitics, local and regional conflicts, and in economic performance with implications for the well-being of societies all over the globe. The patterns of suddenness and aftermath of physical and socio-economic systems vary greatly. Tipping points can lead to unintended worsening, to induced vulnerabilities, to chaos and confusion in communication, and to the scope for restorative redirection. The scope for benign transformation is an intrinsic aspect of the tipping point metaphor.
