Living metaphors : exploring freedom and heuristic insight in aesthetic appreciation, character development, and learning

Abstract

I open this thesis by arguing that complex metaphor is neglected by prominent theorists in the theory of metaphor. Specifically, Max Black’s and Donald Davidson’s accounts of metaphor not only leave complex metaphor aside, but cannot account for extended metaphor, one variant of complex metaphor. I proceed to explore how revising our conception of metaphor accordingly generates a more robust understanding of both metaphor and the related notion of metaphoric competence. Paul Ricoeur’s account of metaphor is more convincing than Black’s and Davidson’s for this very reason. Subsequent to comparing these theories and arguing that the resultant view of metaphor enables us to appreciate better its role in both speculative thought and communication more generally, I consider implications of this emerging view for the fields of aesthetics, ethics, and pedagogy. Finally, I review an example of a complex metaphor, one which fittingly counts as a metaphor of metaphoric competence itself.