Can a Metaphor be a single word?
Recently I heard a philosopher speaking about a certain term Heidegger used as being a 'metaphor"....yet, is not a metaphor a comparison between a minimum of 2 terms, concepts, etc.
For example, a metaphor is "she has a heart of gold".....we have here the metaphorical vehicle ("Gold") and the tenor or subject of the metaphor... ("heart"). But neither "heart" nor "gold", when taken alone, constitute a metaphor.
For example, a metaphor is "she has a heart of gold".....we have here the metaphorical vehicle ("Gold") and the tenor or subject of the metaphor... ("heart"). But neither "heart" nor "gold", when taken alone, constitute a metaphor.
Comments (93)
Can you go into more detail? What term is being discussed? Perhaps the philosopher wanted to emphasize that the term is not to be taken literally.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphor/
My own understanding is a bit shallow but I'll just go with the flow.
Still waters run deep.
A novel interpretation.
Is there a 'right way' to interpret a novel or short story...a piece of philosophy?
Many thanks for all the answers!
Unfortunately, i cannot remember exactly (I am no Heidegger scholar but merely attended the talk), but it struck me as odd.
so even in the example provided -- "candle lit in a dark room: "Sunlight!", I would say the word "sunlight" itself does not constitute a metaphor, although we can make integrate the term into a metaphor, e.g., "the candle was sunlight in the dark room," or something like that. if I "sunlight" and point to the candle, the metaphor just mentioned is implicit, yet if I merely utterance the single word, it would not be a metaphor I think.
sorry, I completely forgot!
But with respect to your comment "the philosopher wanted to emphasize that the term is not to be taken literally", i assume you mean that, given that is the case, "metaphor" was used in a pretty lose way....
I do believe that a metonym can consist in a single word, but a metaphor, to be strict, seems to require at minimum two, since a metaphor involves a comparison between 2 or more ideas/objects etc...
Thanks again for the answer!
Blame the OP, wisnae me guv :scream:
My synapses were slumbering perfectly peacefully, thank you.
Best not raise the monsters of who is right and why...
Specially when it comes to Plato, a jolly fella with tales for all.
Quoting tim wood
Standards and systems. Process and procedure.
Dry or juicy. Depending.
Now to douse the sizzles...
"Metaphors "carry" meaning from one word, image, idea, or situation to another.[/quote]" -- therein lies my problem with saying a mere word (in isolation) is a metaphor.
And the definition of a metaphor seems to contradict the claim that the term "metaphor" is a metaphor!
[quote="Metaphor;]The word metaphor itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek term meaning to "transfer" or "carry across." Metaphors "carry" meaning from one word, image, idea, or situation to another.[/quote]
OK about the etymology, but the actual metaphor applies only to the Greek language! For the English language, the word "metaphor" is just a word (carrying a single meaning and used literally). :smile:
that term, as far as I know, is Heidegger's coinage. I would say that is a concept, not a metaphor. After it is unwrapped, then it can have a metaphorical sense. "thrownness" has no metaphorical meaning when used in isolation. "Geworfenheit" has no target/source domain,
Shit!
Asshole!
Here are some singe-word metaphors:
1) Plain words:
- chair: A professorship (We can say, e.g. "he holds a chair in physics")
- crane (verb): Stretch out (one's neck) so as to see something. (As a crane (machine) does. We can say, e.g. "he craned his head to see passed the people in front of him".)
- player: Used as someone who is 1) "playing" with women 2) a factor, taking part in a big business or other plan. With a reference to the primary meaning of "player", which is "taking part in sport").
...
2) Words consisting of two words blended together:
- scapegoat: A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency. Literally, a goat sent into wilderness after the Jewish chief priest had symbolically laid the sins of the people upon it (Bible).
- portmanteau: A word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel or brunch. Literally, a large travelling bag, typically made of stiff leather and opening into two equal parts.
...
Actually, the list comprises all words with double meanings, where a secondary meaning refers to, is connected to and extends the primary meaning, to describe something different in kind.
I don't think these are metaphors. The word "chair" is not a metaphor sitting there by itself. There has to be a context in which a comparison is made. Not sure of that.
Isn't "chair" a metonymy? I guess it could be both.
What does "God" stand for, metaphorically?
In Metaphor and Religious Language, theologian Janet Martin Soskice proposes the idea that God is a metaphor of “causal relation.” A metaphor that stands in for an as yet unidentified process that effects change in the world.
OK, I think I understand you.
Perhaps it is more like the idea, sense or meaning of the original word is being carried over/across but lies behind the new word or metaphor - rather than alongside in comparison...
So, it can be a concept and a metaphor at the same time. Or an automatic thought connection ?
I don't know.
Quoting jancanc
Can you expand or explain what you mean by that, thanks.
Found this but haven't read it through properly
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-conceptual-metaphor-1689899
I think I agree with , and . But then again, my brain is in pain :nerd:
A single-word metaphor is pretty creative, no?
It can help to describe, enlighten... or can hinder by ambiguity...vagueness...
Most fascinating and thought-provoking :smile:
Enlightenment
Deadly
Levity
Pissed (drunken)
Pissed (angry)
Pissed (dissed)
Shit (too many figurative meanings to mention)
Brownies (girl guides)
Trailblazer
Cowboy
Ironic
Wordy
Wooden
Etc
I don't think any of these words, with the exception of "shit," is a metaphor. There has to be a comparison for it to be a metaphor. To say "She is a trailblazer" is a metaphor. Just "trailblazer" by itself is not. I think "shit," as an exclamation is a metaphor, because it represents "This situation is shit," which is a comparison.
If one states the terms being compared, is that not more like an allegory? Plato's allegory of the cave places our experience of knowing and ignorance side by side with an image that is meant to correspond with it.
The use of metaphor is more of a direct predicate. Like Eliot saying: "We are the hollow men, leaning together, headpiece filled with straw." How will one compare that identity with another?
Creative multilingualism.
*
* Links at end of this informative article:
Quoting Creative multilingualism
https://www.creativeml.ox.ac.uk/what-metaphor-and-how-does-it-work/index.html
So many great answers here. The difference in viewpoints can be explained by the fact that there is not a universal consensus on the definition of a metaphor. However, there seems to be a consensus that a necessary condition for an expression to qualify a metaphor is there is a comparison being made between a minimum of 2 ideas/terms.
A metaphor pretty much has 3 parts.. a subject (tenor), the "metaphorical vehicle," and the ground.
the subject or tenor is that what is being spoken about. the characteristics of the vehicle are transferred to the tenor. very simple example:
Life is a journey.
Life- tenor
journey- vehicle
the tenor and vehicle can also be called the target and source domain.
the characteristics of the source domain (the vehicle) are "mapped" onto the target domain (tenor).
so with "Geworfenheit" there is merely a tenor. there can be no mapping. Although it is understandable why one would think it is a metaphor, it seems technically not to be.
Some people have provided examples of what the think are one worded metaphors, but I think most are technically "metonyms", or there is an implicit metaphor insofar as in the expression is being implicitly compared to another object/idea etc.
I believe I may have read that an allegory is a subtype of metaphor, although generally the two are distinguished (merely) on the basis of an allegory being an extended piece of literature/narrative, where there may be personification, metonym, etc etc, and a metaphor is a short expression.
But certainly, that allegory cannot be condensed into a metaphor, "Life is a shadow", or something like that...
yes, I agree. although with the word "shit" with the exclamation mark, it is certainly a figure of speech and can be unpacked to be a metaphor, but as "shit!", it may have some other technical name.
I've watched two of the videos. The first and this one on metaphor and communication:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnwKZAOulLk
[ Filmed at The Creative Power of Metaphor conference held at Worcester College, Oxford on 29-30 March 2019. The conference was organised by Creative Multilingualism]
It held my attention with different speakers/researchers.
A focus on imagery, ads, politics, street art e.g. see Banksy used in a Greek political image - original here : https://www.banksyshop.net/banksy-girl-with-balloon-meaning/
Interesting research re levels of understanding depending on ambiguous nature of the metaphor.
Also, how metaphor shapes thought and vice versa as it is framed in a single image.
Directionality and Association.
--------
Quoting jancanc
If ever I'm hung up on a problem, sometimes I need to loosen up...swing a little.
Be easy...work out how much it really matters...and then move on.
Thanks for further explanation and starting this enjoyable thread :smile:
I'm sure I have more to learn - given my fascination with the subject and now Ancient Greek !
Resisting the temptation to say, "It's all Greek to me !"
Quoting jancanc
A metaphor is not a comparison. A metaphor is a meaning attributed figuratively to a parallel literal meaning.
An example for you:Quoting Agent Smith
Also the problem isn't whether there is one word, but whether there is the presence of just the vehicle, even if there are several words.
Which particularly? (I can't handle "these" ...)
I assume you mean all of them. Anyway, it depends on how one defines the word "metaphor". I use the definition from Oxford LEXICO: "A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable."
'Literary Devices' defines it as "a word or phrase that is used to make a comparison between two things.". And it offers a lot of examples. I list some of them that apply to "my case":
- Battle of egos: The word "battle" is used figuratively (metaforically)
- Better half: The word "half" is used with a different meaning than its basic one
- Early bird: The word "early" is used with a aspecial meaning, other than its basic one
In my example "he holds a chair in physics" the word "chair" is used figuratively. It fits the scheme used by 'Literary Devices'. At least this is how I see it.
The example used py the poster himself --"she has a heart of gold"-- also fits to the abobe scheme, only that in this case both words are used metaforically (figuratively). We could change it to "a person of gold", in which s single word is used metaforically, "gold". The scheme is always the same.
Anyway, the topic asks for single-word metaphors. And the above examples fit the case. If, however, the topic asks for striclly single words, i.e. creating a metaphor by uttering a single word, then the words "scapegoat" and "portmanteau", which I also mentioned, and similar ones, is the best one could do. And, like early bird, mentioned above, we can mention "mockingbird", which is mimicking the songs of other birds and which is another example of a single-word metaphor.
(Yet, note that these too consist of two words, only that they are blended together! :smile:)
:up: Nice! It gives examples of single-word metaphors (emphasizing the word that is used metaphorically), as I did too.
it is splitting hairs, right!?
I word agree "Lion!" in an utterance is an implicit metaphor..the comparison is implicit.... But on the written page I do not think it-- the single word with exclamation mark- would qualify as a metaphor.
What about two words blended into a single one (scapegoat, portemanteau, mockingbird, ...) ? :smile:
as I said....
Quoting Bylaw
In a philosophical text the single word, if implicitly referring to something else without it being mentioned, then it could be a metaphor. But then we need examples.
People, I decided to repeat my posts when necessery, to alleviate the fact that almost nobody reads through the entire text of all posts. I do this to show that what you have asked for has been done.
This is not a "blaming" or "shaming", it is simply an acknowledgement that hardly anyone reads through the entire thread.
By "you" I did not mean you, Bylaw; I meant general you.
Quoting god must be atheist
nice point! But I would say these are only one word (compound nouns)...denoting the existence of only one entity!
We seem to be running across the question of what a metaphor is and isn't. Seems like a good time to define the word. Here are several definitions from the web:
I think it is reasonable to say that a metaphor is a comparison, but whether or not we do, it clearly requires two elements. This from Wikipedia:
The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1937) by rhetorician I. A. Richards describes a metaphor as having two parts: the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the object whose attributes are borrowed.
A single word does not provide both parts unless it is somehow implied. If I say "A**hole!" the "You are an..." is implied.
As far as I can tell, all that has been established is that a metaphor cannot be a single word without context, which, however, has no bearing on the OP.
Yes.
Quoting Alkis Piskas
I agree, this is a metaphor.
Quoting Alkis Piskas
I'm not sure about this. Technically, I think it is what's called a metonymy. From the web:
In rhetoric, change of name; a trope or figure of speech that consists in substituting the name of one thing for that of another to which the former bears a known and close relation.
Maybe it can be both.
Quoting Alkis Piskas
This is how I interpreted the OP. As I noted in my previous response to @god must be atheist, it is my understanding that a metaphor is made up of two parts. In a one word metaphor, the second part has to be implied.
Recently I heard a philosopher speaking about a certain term Heidegger used as being a "description" or "predication"...yet, is not a description or predication a comparison between a minimum of 2 terms, concepts, etc?
For example, a description is "she has a heart of gold".....we have here the adjective or predicate ("Gold") and the tenor or subject of the description... ("heart"). But neither "heart" nor "gold", when taken alone, constitute a description. (Literal or metaphorical.)
It hasn't been established. It's a claim I've made, but I don't think everyone agrees.
Quoting jamalrob
Here is the OP:
Quoting jancanc
Why doesn't it have any bearing?
You are right. That's why I said, "it's the best one could do", i.e. the nearest to single-word metaphors one can get.
@jancanc In fact, a complete metaphor cannot be formulated by a single word, and this is I think the answer to the topic.
Sorry. Let me clarify. Assume that is is established. Hypothetically, what then?
Quoting emancipate
We're all done (brushes dust from hands). We congratulate ourselves on a job well done.
Thanks! I got richer today by one literary term! :grin:
Wikipedia describes the differencr bewteen "metonomy" and "metaphor":
"Metonymy works by the contiguity (association) between two concepts, whereas the term 'metaphor' is based upon their analogous similarity. When people use metonymy, they do not typically wish to transfer qualities from one referent to another as they do with metaphor. There is nothing press-like about reporters or crown-like about a monarch, but 'the press' and 'the crown' are both common metonyms."
Well, that's enough for me for one day as far as literature is concerned! :grin:
Great. Another mystery solved. This calls for a hypothetical drink. *Hypothetical guzzle ensues*
I shall attempt a clarification. There appears in jancanc's posts to be a conflation of two things: first, a metaphor as a term with no (implied) connection to, or context of, the thing or concept represented; and second, a metaphor as a single word. The OP uncritically takes the latter to entail the former.
When I said that "all that has been established is that a metaphor cannot be a single word without context, which, however, has no bearing on the OP", I was wrong, or at least imprecise. I was just trying to say that Heidegger's use of a metaphor (if that's what it is) doesn't require that he use more than one word. Or I could say that more than one word is always required to produce the metaphoricality of a metaphor, because a word spoken or written without context cannot be metaphorical. Such a contextless word is likely meaningless anyway. But the requirement for contextual words does not negate the claim that the metaphor itself is a metaphor, whether it's one word or a few.
I was with you until this.
This analogy works because prepositions indicate relations, as do metaphors. I'm just making the simple point that in both cases they can consist of a single word.*
* though not, of course, a single word alone (whatever that would mean)
Quoting jancanc
...is not affected by an argument to the effect that a metaphor requires the context of other words, because of course, the term did have such a context.
The metaphor is "bruised". Is there more to say?
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/633114
To be more accurate, the metaphor is the particular use of the word. But we can still say when referring to the sentence, as the unnamed philosopher mentioned in the OP similarly did when referring to some sentences of Heidegger, that "bruised" here is a metaphor.
(Too many consecutive posts; this is what happens when you don't think things through)
I think we are converging on this discussion by your saying this.
Quoting god must be atheist
I'll take these three words at near-random from my list and show how they are metaphors by themselves. According to the definition "a literal term having a figurative meaning".
Trailblazer -- Literal: cuts a trail (as on a surface: riding surface, travelling surface, etc.)
Trailblazer -- Metaphoric: uses a device (literary, artistic, or political, etc.) that has not been used before in the way the person uses it. Trendsetter.
Brownies (girl guides) -- Literal: girls who participate in girl guides.
Brownies (girl guides) -- Metaphoric: getting points for good behavoiur (I may have mistaken the etymology; maybe brownies come from kissing ass? at any rate, then it's still a metaphor.)
Cowboy -- Literal: man who tends to herding cows. Driving them to market (historically).
Cowboy -- Metaphoric: man (or woman) who drives recklessly. The IMPLIED metaphor is that s/he is wild, and does not heed to rules.
Charlie Chaplin was a trailblazer in the film industry. Trailblazer is the metaphor, as he did not actually cut a path with moving fast.
I earned some brownies by polishing the teacher's shoes. Brownies is the metaphor, as I did not earn a young girl, nor did I kiss the ass of my teacher. (You have to take my word for it.)
I won't let any cowboy drive my Ferrari. Of course a real cowboy can ride the Ferrari if he is not reckless.
Hah. Thanks for all the clarification.
Must say you inspired me to google 'clusterfuck metaphor'.
Wow !
The 'artistic' short stories you come across.
A clean cut from one:
Deeper and deeper down the slippery slope...
Yes. I eventually read it...today :blush: ...after your reminder, thanks.
I thought it quite illuminating, especially with regard to:
Quoting ThoughtCo -
The orientational one reminded me of something one of the lecturers said. *
We talk about being 'in a mood'.
The idea of a container...
Will need to listen again, to all the Youtube presentations, not just two.
* link
Quoting Amity
That leads me to wonder at what point a metaphor is different than other predicates. From a certain point of view, there is always a Two; The one being said to be another.
Is that use of the one being said to be another thing a particular problem of speech?
:up:
But for me, all this is too much literary input! :grin:
Yes - but instead of writing 'Metaphor' as the link, I should have been more precise with the quote source:
https://www.thoughtco.com/metaphor-figure-of-speech-and-thought-1691385
A clear and informative article, ending with:
Quoting ThoughtCo - Metaphor Definition and Examples
My previous response was a bit flippant.
I actually enjoyed seeing your thought process at work; the way you clarified what you meant.
I had intended to return and pick out some of the key points to further discuss.
Or perhaps simply bullet-point...
To avoid any misrepresentation on my part, perhaps you could gather them up in a summary ?
Or not. Thanks, anyway. Grateful for all your input :100:
OK. I was surprised by that but appreciate your continuing feedback.
What is...or what do you mean by... 'too much literary input' ?
No problem. I aim to please! :grin:
Quoting Amity
Unfortunately my mind seems to have moved on to more verdant pastures.
Neepheid :razz:
I mean I have taken in too much literature data, esp. terms. I am not at all in the literature field, you see. Hence "too much input" for me, i.e. I am fed up with metaphor stuff! :grin:
I enjoyed the discussion though! :smile:
I am not in the 'literature field' either.
But I've discovered that metaphors play an underestimated role in the way we think and discuss...practically everything, every day ! Not just in literature.
Philosophy is all about discussing ideas and the way we think, no ?
I think a greater awareness of how we use language is pretty vital.
An understanding of our understanding, if you like...
Especially when interacting with others from different cultures. To clarify and avoid misinterpretation.
The input hasn't just been about terminology.
For me, a basic outline of the different types and use of metaphors has been most useful.
But yeah, perhaps too many definitions out there.
The OP was just a starting point for a greater exploration.
Like you, I've enjoyed it but perhaps enough already :smile:
I think we should play a game of 'Spot the Metaphor !'
Could be fun in 'The Holiday Short Story Competition' :wink:
Maybe you must stop being fed with this stuff before you get yourselg an indigestion! :grin:
Otherwise, you have good points about the usefulness of literature. If not anything else, it can add some "color" or "salt" to philosophical discussions. But, as a principle, I personally am very strict about exact language when it comes to logic and philosophy. There must no be ambiguity in the logical world, including descriptions, examples, distractions, etc. So, literature is not so much of value to me. I prefer adding "spice" to a discussion using "colorful" examples, including analogies. Analogies are great. Much better than metaphors! :smile:
What's the Ancient Greek for 'Neepheid' ?
I don't know what does this word mean and I can't find it in the Web ...
Turniphead.
From Urban Dictionary: an original and creative insult, implies that someone looks or is stupid, by suggesting that their head is like a turnip.
used by merlin to insult prince arthur.
“what can i say arthur? you look like a total turniphead.”
So, is there an example in Ancient Greek literature or philosophy ?
Plato might have a choice word ?
Tenor and vehicle are there in the history of the word, and in my own experience exploring the phenomenology of metaphors, we are still mixing realms in our minds, not that we notice this unless we more or less meditate on it.
But then it isn't really a one word metaphor.
Like my example of saying 'Lion' when referring to the boss. Other words or the target is present, though not verbalized. And with dead metaphors we, more or less, forget, that we are using other things or ideas to refer to whatever we are labeling. But two 'things' are present.
The question is not how many things are present. I have already covered that with my definition of the metaphor. The question was "are there one-word metaphors".
The word itself, in the context of its use, can have a figurative meaning that is expressed by a literal expression. The parallel between the figurative and the literal make room for the two "things" present, which you insist be present. Yes, I don't deny your claim at all; I deny your claim that because two "things" are present, a single word can't carry that complex idea. Yes it can, I gave examples of it. You are arguing stating things which I understand and agree with, but you failed to see that dual meanings can be carried by a single word, and the dual meanings are present at the same time and in the same respect.
Having learned a bit more about 'metaphor', I return to the SEP article:
Now more digestible, a soupçon for starters:
Quoting SEP: Metaphor
The article continues, giving different accounts and traditions:
Quoting SEP: Metaphor 2. The Ancient Accounts
Aristotle kicks things off...others get a mention...with further links:
Then - not for the 'faint-hearted':
4. Four Traditions
4.1 Semantic Twist Accounts
4.2 Pragmatic Twist Accounts
4.3 Comparativist Accounts
4.4 Brute Force Accounts
5. Recent developments
5.1 Metaphor and Cognitive Linguistics
5.2 Metaphor and the Context Wars
5.3 Metaphor and Make-Believe
My emphases above show clearly the answer to the OP's question.
'Can a Metaphor be a single word?'
In a word: Yes.
Yes indeed :100:
I can only agree with that.
I think we are agreeing with each other. I could have said this. I should have read the whole thread, but in any case my last post was not meant to be disagreeing with you, it was simply me mulling over the examples you listed.
I suppose it comes down to what is meant by 'one word'. I think many concepts are still present when that word is said, written, heard, read. Those words you listed have histories, going back to when they were consciously metaphors. Those histories arise in the hearing/reading.
I am not denying that one can have a single word in a text that is a metaphor. Maybe it is better to say more than one concept is packed into that word.
Which is obvious with a word like Cowboy. It is certainly one word and it is a compound word with two words in it. This is out in the open.
Enlightenment is trickier. Here we have something concrete (or at least on face value more concrete) 'light', being used - for example - to communicate about a state or mind (me thinking more of the Eastern religion idea as described in the West using an English (Western) word, rather than the period of time in history, though there are overlaps in meaning. This is what we do. We have made thousands of words, for example, using motor cortext type words to describe things that are less tangible, feeling up or feeling down, say. Here something concrete, light, to describe what might be a felt state or a hallucination or what another might experience in their mental state after 50 years of meditation and seeming equanimity. Knowledge or insight = more light. We could know things better in daylight or outside the cave when we brought it into the sunlight. So, they now know all sorts of stuff cause they got more light 'in their heads'.
So, yeah. One word can do this. But that word has a history of concepts behind it.
You can't just throw a one word metaphor at people without that history and expect them to make heads or tails of it. There's an iceberg under that tip.
A word on the page wíth no one reading it, is one word on a page.
A word that is being read is in the presence of some kind of iceberg, the whole process of the word stimulating associations and meanings in the brain of the reader. And this is true of one word metaphors.
Not that you are saying one can just throw it out there and certainly not that you are denying any of my points about the process of listening or reading. This is me clarifying my mulling.
Since I mentioned the motor cortex, I could say 'downshift' (US English) is a single word, could be a single word instruction from a driving teacher. But it is a vast set of nerve system and muscular actions that were once all separate, single words in themselves. I suppose in a way I am wondering what 'single word' means in terms of use. I wholeheartedly agree that single word metaphors exist. Now that we know this (or believe it) what do we conclude?
So, here I am using those nervous system changes and muscular movements as a metaphor for all the conceptual activity (mostly no longer conscious with a dead metaphor) going on when a one word metaphor is used. Yes, one word on the page or as sound in the air. Words stimulate a lot of activity (-ies) when read/heard. The activities are where the meat is.
EDIT: I mulled a bit and realized that one could argue that enlightenment is not one word but three. Of course, there are other examples of one word metaphors that are not this, but my completely fetish compells me to mention it. We have two 'en's the first means something like within or in. The second makes a noun a verb and 'ment' means something like a process, so making a noun out of a verb that was made out of a noun. And some words in German would have, for example, even more words in one word. This doesn't mean we can't have one word metaphors, since other examples are not built up like this. Though history surrounds those with other words or tenors.
Spot on.
Hope furrowed brows have been smoothed.
@jancanc ?
Perhaps so - cue another thread - 'Is God a Metaphor ?'
Here's a relevant article:
Quoting Christiancentury: Is God a Metaphor ?
Quoting Christiancentury: Is God a Metaphor ?
Yes, a point I miss gladly as I view faith (as per Hebrews 11) as the excuse people give for believing when they don't have a good reason. Perhaps faith is a metaphor for gullibility?
Quoting Christiancentury: Is God a Metaphor ?
No. Unlike god/s, a lover, a court, the poor - all exist and can be demonstrated to exist. Any relationship with them comes with reciprocal and measurable effects and outcomes.
Quoting Christiancentury: Is God a Metaphor ?
Not sure that sentence has any meaning except as a statement of wish fulfilment... What is this reality we orient ourselves towards? In faith we orientate ourselves towards an undemonstrated personal notion of some kind of supernatural entity (however that looks for the faithful) that is not a reality as such unless 'reality' is being used as a metaphor. Cue Sinatra singing Impossible Dream...
Quoting Tom Storm
The idea or concept of 'God' is different from what someone might experience as a 'God', no ?
Quoting Tom Storm
Interesting. I don't usually follow philosophy of religion much. It is generally too predictable.
I've never really thought of 'God as a Metaphor' before, so thanks for that !
Quoting Tom Storm
Miss out the 'perhaps' and you could throw another good right hook for a thread :smile:
Faith is defined as a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.
Then again, consider faith in philosophy:
Faith: Quoting SEP: Faith
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Quoting Tom Storm
True. But it was 'love', 'truth' and 'justice' - concepts - that were the alleged metaphors, alongside the idea of 'God'. Just as airy, fairy ?
Do they compare ? If 'God' is seen as a metaphor for 'goodness'... ?
Quoting Tom Storm
Ah well...another hottie for philly.
Quoting Tom Storm
:smile:
Or
My Way (2008 Remastered)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQzdAsjWGPg
:cool:
All so amusing...and full of metaphors...life, huh ?
Yes, but for me the key point is they are attached to tangible things. We 'see' love in action, in relation to behavior between people and animals. We can assess 'truth' in relation to an event.
We can't see god attached to faith as anything but a kind of loop of self-reflexivity - I believe in God because I have faith, I have faith because I believe in god... etc.
Of course, I could be wrong and will burn in hell for eternity because I mocked Hebrews 11 and failed to see the concrete nature of the deity in action through grace. In which case, cue Sinatra singing 'Get Happy'
Of course, some might argue that 'love' is God (goodness' ) in action, or v.v.
So many concepts, metaphors, so little time.
Bowing out with:
What is this thing called love ?
Frank Sinatra (1955)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=io8xL0_8neM
Cheers :sparkle:
And no way anyone burns in any damned hell, we are the :fire:
- he is the leader of the football team
- he is the chair of the Department of Political Science
- he is the head of State