The Rule of Metaphor: Multi-disciplinary Studies of the Creation of Meaning in Language (University of Toronto Romance Series) [Paperback]

Paul Ricouer (Author), Robert Czerny (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1981 | ISBN-10: 0802064477 | ISBN-13: 978-0802064479

Originally published in English in 1978, this full-scale examination of the philosophy of metaphor from Aristotle to the present, brings together and discusses significant viewpoints on metaphor held by writers in various disciplines. These include linguistics and semantics, the philosophy of language, literary criticism, and aesthetics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'I do not think that anyone would fail to find illumination and challenge in reading him.' - Times Literary Supplement --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division (October 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802064477
• ISBN-13: 978-0802064479
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Metaphor is the message, August 18, 2003

By 

Rexford J. Styzens (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rule of Metaphor: Multi-disciplinary Studies of the Creation of Meaning in Language (University of Toronto Romance Series) (Paperback)

The problem is not that fiction shows itself to be a necessity for speculation (Ricoeur admits that it does) but that the distinctiveness between the fictions of art and the fictions of discourse/philosophy has been muddied by the exhaustion of both sets of metaphors. In other words, had we a language full of vital and living metaphors, we would then more easily recognize the distinctiveness of poetic and philosophic metaphor. He shows how Heidegger both acknowledges the distinction and then, in his attempts to step forward, slides down into the muddy waters where the distinction is lost. As a consequence, the later Heidegger shows the way only by his effort, not by his accomplishment.

Ricoeur published this in 1971. He uses Anglo-American philosophy of language extensively. I particularly enjoyed his ability to blend work in aesthetics beginning with Aristotle's Poetics down to some living philosophers who I did not know had published in that area. For instance, he locates in Nelson Goodman's reliance on "expression" in art (what we'd usually call 'style') a transcendent dimension (a 'more' than the sum of the elements in a work of art) as parallel with what in discourse might be called intention (I forget the exact word he used). But again, discourse then has its version of a transcendent dimension that communicates as the sense of the whole -- if a thinker manages to pull that off.

What was new to me (in addition to the recent scholarship on classical sources he used) was his thought. My impulse is to compare him unfavorably with Heidegger, by belittling Ricoeur's academic philosophy to Heidegger's existential declaration of the human condition. But he's just as good, in his own way. And while I could complain about his predisposition to work from within the respectable tradition of our western Judeo-Christian civilization (hence he remains 'God's' spokesman), he does not denigrate but uses the outstanding accomplishments of those for whom that tradition has become alien.

16 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Student of Geneologies, February 28, 2006

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George Stoya - See all my reviews
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This review is from: RC Series Bundle: The Rule of Metaphor: The Creation of Meaning in Language (Routledge Classics) (Paperback)

Ricoeur's Rule of Metaphor is the missing link for anyone truly interested in getting at the roots of semiotics, semantics and hermeneutics. For the student of Western Civilization's grammar and logical structure, it provides a genesis of postmodern critique.