Davidson held that because there is no stateable cognitive content of a metaphor, because. Metaphor is a poetically or rhetorically ambitious use of words, a figurative as opposed to literal use. It is something brought off by the imaginative employment of words and sentences and depends entirely on the ordinary meanings of those words and hence on the ordinary meanings of the sentences they comprise. He explores how best to construe the evidential base on which this process operates, wavering between too thick or too thin a base, i. One philosopher, at least, diverges from max blacks interaction view of metaphor. Perhaps less renowned are a cluster of articles that deal with topics that do not seem to fall directly within the purview of the analytic philosopher. Nov 09, 2016 donald trump didnt repeat the mantra drain the swamp in his victory speech early wednesday morning, but the metaphor may have played a small role in helping him to win the 2016. In what metaphors mean, donald davidson argues that metaphors have no special meanings beyond their literal meanings. George lakoff and mark johnsen 2003 metaphors we live by. The cognitive significance of metaphor is, rather, that it causescauses. It can hope to do this only by recourse to two sorts of items. It criticises mentalese, the thesis that there is an inborn language of thought, and discusses the conditions necessary for creatures to acquire concepts, thoughts and language. I argue, first, that despite some puzzling inconsistencies, the overall thrust of what metaphors mean is a radical form of noncogitivism, on which speakers of metaphors merely cause their hearers to perceive certain features in the world, but do not claim or implicate that things are any particular way.
But there is another sense, well known to philosophers, in which only some of the things we can think about are said to. Davidson was known for his charismatic personality and the. Donald davidson on metaphor and anomalous monism th annual conference of the italian association for cognitive sciences aisc, mind the gap. On metaphor, a collection of fourteen essays by eminent philosophers, literary critics, theologians, art historians, and psychologists, illustrates and explores a striking phenomenon in modern intellectual history. Pdf what we can learn about category mistakes from. Donald davidson he earned his phd in 1949 from harvard university and taught at several american universities stanford, chicago and rockefeller.
Instead, he claims, metaphors work by prompting, inspiring, provoking or inviting us. Donald davidsons what metaphors mean 6928 words 123. Mulberry abstract in his essay what metaphors mean, donald davidson gave a striking view of metaphor, claiming that metaphorical utterances have no meaning beyond the literal meanings of the words contained in them. Davidson on metap hor davidson on metap hor reimer, marga 20010101 00. Donald davidson, american philosopher known for his strikingly original and unusually systematic treatments of traditional problems in a number of fields.
Rather, metaphors are used, like pointing or photographs, to draw our. Pdf what we can learn about category mistakes from donald. Perspectives on the philosophy of donald davidson, edited by e. In another view, donald davidson takes a radical stance in his what metaphors mean to assert that the words in a metaphor mean nothing other than their original, literal meaning. More significantly still, he goes on to point out the ways in which he wishes to compare metaphor to sigmund freuds notion of dreamwork. This essay argues that while there is an important sense in which we see the world through language, common ways of understanding this metaphor are false. Donald davidson is university professor of philosophy at the university of. It may provide or obscure clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. This includes the classic models and metaphor, by max black, who distinguishes between the literal words of the phrase and the metaphorical words. While black argues that metaphors depend on the meaning of the word, davidson contends that the metaphor belongs strictly in the domain of use. Davidson s arguments are directed at views that, as well see, have little bearing on the idea of a conceptual scheme. One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in english. Feb 20, 2003 donald davidson, a nice derangement of epitaphs pp.
Donald davidson stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. Donald davidson the university of california at berkeley there is a sense in which anything we think about is, while we are thinking about it, before the mind. Strawson invites us to imagine possible nonactual worlds, worlds that might be described, using our present language, by redistributing truth values over sentences in various systematic ways. This article deals with donald davidson s concept of metaphor and richard rorty s use of it for his version of political liberalism. At the same time, this investigation is closely concerned with questions about the nature of metaphor. On the very idea of a southeastern louisiana university. The interpretation of dreams requires collaboration between a dreamer and a waker, even. Davidson s view has critical inquiry 16 autumn 1989. John searle wants to answer how it is that a speaker can say metaphorically s is p and mean s is r, when p plainly does not mean r searle 103.
Donald davidson s noncognitive account of metaphor. Of all published articles, the following were the most read within the past 12 months. It has attracted more philosophical interest and provoked more philosophical controversy than any of the other traditionally recognized figures of speech. Rorty assumes that metaphor is a linguistic element that is. Jul 01, 20 a companion to donald davidson presents newly commissioned essays by leading figures within contemporary philosophy. A greatly simplified introduction to one influential theory of meaning. Donald davidson the rockefeller university and princeton university new york 10021. While black argues that metaphors depend on the meaning of the word, davidson contends that the metaphor belongs strictly in. Donald davidson s what metaphors mean our literal understandings of a word are twins in constant opposition with one another, twins in constant competition to receive the most love from their mother and father. I propose that an account of metaphor understanding which covers the full range of cases has to allow for two routes or modes of processing. Donald davidson 1978 has forcefully argued that a metaphor carries no meaning other than its literal meaning. Davidson on metaphor, midwest studies in philosophy 10.
What metaphors mean donald davidson metaphor is the dreamwork of language and, like all dreamwork, its interpretation reflects as much on the interpreter as on the originator. Davidson and conceptual schemes by paul broadbent a thesis submitted to the university of birmingham. Comparisons are made between a central metaphorical structure in the zhuangzi on the one hand and contemporary views of the nature of metaphor by donald davidson and. I compare two of davidson s main discussions of metaphor. Furthermore, i have shown that if the arguments presented inchapter three concerning metaphorical meaning should be proved wrong, rorty stillcannot base his arguments about contingency on davidson s theory of metaphor if hewants to be consistent with the broader davidsonian semantic. Let us pretend the parents are the literary community that demonstrates love frequently by showing a preference for one of their twins. Metaphor and varieties of meaning a companion to donald. An attraction of davidsons philosophy of language is the set of conceptual connections he draws between traditional questions about language and issues. These three volumes, comprising fortythree essays dating from 1982 to 2001, bring together virtually all of donald davidson s work not collected in essays on actions and events oxford and new york.
Donald davidson is of course supremely well known for his contributions to several areas of philosophy, particularly the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of action. After early travels that included three years in the philippines, the davidson family settled on staten island in 1924. I compare two of davidsons main discussions of metaphor. For davidson, there are two relevant points of comparison. From 1926, he attended the staten island academy, and then began studies at harvard in 1935, on a scholarship from the harvard club of new york. Richard rorty claims that this view of metaphor can be used to argue that cultural, moral, and scientific change all products of metaphor are. Donald herbert davidson march 6, 1917 august 30, 2003 was an american philosopher. The commonplace view about metaphorical interpretation is that it can be characterized in traditional semantic and pragmatic terms, thereby assimilating metaphor to other familiar uses of language.
Auden 1940 trying to say when he wrote these words. It is their clarification of these traditional philosophical concepts that has enabled us to see where we diverge from the tradition and where we preserve elements of it. Hesse and davidson on metaphor, objectivity, relativism and truth. Mulberry abstract in his essay what metaphors mean, donald davidson gave a striking view of metaphor, claiming that metaphorical utterances have no meaning beyond the literal meanings of the words contained in. Donald davidsons what metaphors mean 6928 words 123 help me.
In his essay what metaphors mean, donald davidson gave a striking view of metaphor, claiming that metaphorical utterances have no meaning beyond the literal meanings of the words contained in them. We will reject this view, and propose in its place the view that, though metaphors can issue in distinctive cognitive and discourse effects, they do so without issuing in metaphorical meaning and. Donald davidson was one of the most important philosophers of the latter half of the twentieth century and with a reception and influence that, of american philosophers, is perhaps matched only by that of w. He was one of the greatest exponents of the socalled philosophy of mind, developed in two major books essays on actions and events 1980 and inquiries into truth and interpretation 1984. Donald davidson su metafora e monismo anomalo core. Black fails to explain how the metaphorical words change in meaning. Brain, cognition and society universita di torino, 2426th november 2016. Donald davidson metaphor is the dreamwork of language and, like all dreamwork, its interpretation reflects as much on the interpreter as on the originator. In another view, donald davidson takes a radical stance in his what metaphors mean to assert that the words in a metaphor mean nothing. Donald davidson truth and meaning it is conceded by most philosophers of language, and recently even by some linguists, that a satisfactory theory of meaning must give an account of how the meanings of sentences depend upon the meanings of words.
Davidson s ideas, presented in a series of essays and one posthumous monograph from the 1960s onwards, have had an impact. Donald davidson, what metaphors mean, in on metaphor, ed. What we can learn about category mistakes from donald davidson s theory of metaphor preprint pdf available march 2019 with 74 reads how we measure reads. The secondthat there is no such thing as metaphorical meaningis to be found in a recent article by donald davidson. A companion to donald davidson ernest lepore, kirk. Pdf donald davidson on metaphor and anomalous monism. Donald davidson was born on march 6, 1917, in spring. A companion to donald davidson presents newly commissioned essays by leading figures within contemporary philosophy. Davidson argues that there are no strict rules determining which expressions in a language must count as metaphorical. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive overview of davidsons work across its full range, and an assessment of his many contributions to philosophy. Doc why donald davidson is wrong about metaphor leon. He served as slusser professor of philosophy at the university of california, berkeley from 1981 to 2003 after having also held teaching appointments at stanford university, rockefeller university, princeton university, and the university of chicago. Subjective, intersubjective, objective problems of. Highlights the breadth of davidsons work across philosophy.
As donald davidson put it in the most influential statement of such an account, what metaphors mean. Davidsons ideas, presented in a series of essays and one posthumous monograph from the 1960s onwards, have had an impact. The demarcation of metaphor 3 of identifying the meaning of each of the indefinite number of indicative sentences which a natural language generates. Donald davidson, what metaphors mean, critical inquiry 5 autumn 1978 3147. However, davidson never makes explicit just what he means by mean, and the term is notoriously ambiguous in both ordinary and philosophical discourse. On the very idea of a conceptual scheme pluralities are metaphorical or merely imagined. Davidson, donald 18931968 davidson, an american poet and critic, was a founder of the fugitives, the agrarian poets group at vanderbilt university. Metaphors are often compared with other types of figurative language, such as antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile. Davidson asks what knowledge suffices for redescribing an uninterpreted utterance as an interpreted one, a process he terms radical interpretation. His answer, stated briefly, is that the utterance of p calls to mind the meaning and, hence, the truth conditions associated with r in the special ways that metaphorical utterances have. Pdf the commentary on metaphor stretches back all the way to aristotle.
Donald davidson 19172003 was one of the most influential analytic philosophers of language during the second half of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twentyfirst century. A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. The interpretation of dreams requires collaboration between a dreamer and a waker, even if they be the same person. Davidsons idea is the reverse of fryes and hollanders. He argues against theories such as max blacks and paul henles that posit distinct metaphorical meanings, claiming that such posits are. I think metaphor belongs exclusively to the domain of use. Category mistakes from donald davidsons theory of metaphor. Thus, donald davidson 1978, 46 claims that a metaphor is like a picture or a bump on the head, in causing us to appreciate some fact but not by standing for, or expressing, the fact.
Montague, saul kripke, david lewis, donald davidson, and others as important contributions to the traditional western conceptions of meaning and truth. In the paper \on the very idea of a conceptual scheme donald davidson argues that. Donald davidson describes a distinction between the meaning of words and their use. Project muse peirce versus davidson on metaphorical meaning. The aim of this paper is to make anomalous monism agree with some of donald davidson s theories about metaphorical meaning. In this section, i work my way through a series of increasingly strong interpretations of what he might a companion to donald davidson, first edition.
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