ZHUANGZI AND THE NATURE OF METAPHOR
Introduction Note
While it is well known that Zhuangzi uses metaphor extensively, there is much less appreciation of the role that it plays in his thought. This essay therefore investigates the role of metaphor in Zhuangzirsquo;s thought. At the same time, this investigation is closely tied up with questions about the nature of metaphor. Comparisons will be made between what I conceive to be a central metaphorical structure in the Zhuangzi on the one hand and certain contemporary views of the nature of metaphor on the other. It is hoped that these comparisons will help to illuminate the purported metaphorical structure and the role that this structure plays in the philosophy of the Zhuangzi.
Zhuangzi uses the metaphors of the heart-mind as a mirror and lsquo;lsquo;goblet wordsrsquo;rsquo; to lsquo;lsquo;emptyrsquo;rsquo; the heart-mind of any distinctions. The paradoxical nature of these words teaches one to be open to multivalence, and not to be attached to specific views.This use of metaphor seems to be explained by Donald Davidsonrsquo;s view of metaphor as having no cognitive content beyond its literal meaning: while a metaphor may intimate certain thoughts, these are not contained within the metaphor itself. What is significant about a metaphor is its imaginative use to intimate any number of things. Thus, it might be said, a` la Davidson, that it is precisely this nature of metaphor that explains how Zhuangzi is able to stay free of (being attached to) any distinctions.
Davidsonrsquo;s view is opposed by others who claim that, although it is nonpropositional,a metaphor possesses cognitive content. Robert Allinson has argued,for instance, that there is a central metaphor in the Zhuangzi, namely Zhuangzirsquo;s dream of (being) a butterfly. The inherent message of this metaphor is said to be the attachment of highest value to the idea of beauty. Although not stated conceptually or propositionally, the message is nevertheless conveyed lsquo;lsquo;preconceptually.rsquo;rsquo; As we shall see, Allinson inadequately supports the attribution of a preconceptual level of cognition, and he is mistaken in his interpretation of Zhuangzi. But, ironically, this mistake may illustrate the view that metaphor operates at the preconceptual level:
Allinsonrsquo;s interpretation of Zhuangzi is a result of some non-propositional metaphorical structure in Allinsonrsquo;s own thought that maps values in spatially embodied terms of lsquo;lsquo;higherrsquo;rsquo; and lsquo;lsquo;lower.rsquo;rsquo; And insofar as it can be shown that Zhuangzi operates in terms of a different metaphorical structure, this would seem to support the view of metaphor as a preconceptual, deeply embodied structure of thought—a view that has been best articulated by Lakoff and Johnson. More will be said about their theory of metaphor in the conclusion below.
But, ultimately, which view of metaphor—Davidsonrsquo;s or Lakoff and Johnsonrsquo;s—best describes Zhuangzirsquo;s use of metaphor?2 This question cannot be answered easily, and I shall offer some reflections at the end of the extended discussion to follow.First, we shall analyze both Allinsonrsquo;s and Davidsonrsquo;s views on metaphor. Second,this leads to a description of the metaphorical structure underlying Zhuangzirsquo;s thought. Third, this is contrasted with the metaphorical interpretation of the Zhuangzi given by Allinson. Fourth, we shall conclude with a discussion of how the structure of Zhuangzirsquo;s metaphorical argument fits or does not fit the Davidsonian and Lakoff/Johnson views of the nature of metaphor.
Chapter 1
Metaphor and Cognitive Content
A generally recognized feature of a metaphor is that it cannot be paraphrased without remainder.3 In other words, something is lost in the attempt to paraphrase the metaphor. However, there are at least two different views about what this signifies.One view is that there is a special cognitive content that is lost in the attempt at paraphrase.Another is that apart from its literal meaning there is no such special content to a metaphor. Robert Allinson, in his book Chuang-Tzu for Spiritual Transformation,holds the first view, while Donald Davidson, in an essay titled lsquo;lsquo;What Metaphors Mean,rsquo;rsquo; holds the second, opposite view.
The lsquo;lsquo;somethingrsquo;rsquo; that is lost in the attempt to paraphrase a metaphor, according to Robert Allinson, is the special cognitive content of the metaphor, and what is lost is precisely the understanding of the meaning of the metaphor. As Allinson says:
What is lost in the attempt to provide a literal prose paraphrase for the metaphorical equivalence is precisely the understanding that occurs as a result of the apprehension of the meaning of the metaphor in the moment of grasping the metaphor. The understanding of the metaphor (which is shorthand for saying the understanding of the meaning of the metaphor) is a result of the engagement of the holistic or the intuitive cognitive capacity.
Allinsonrsquo;s claim is not only that the meaning of a metaphor is lost in the attempt to paraphrase it, but also that the mind has a lsquo;lsquo;holisticrsquo;rsquo; or lsquo;lsquo;intuitiversquo;rsquo; cognitive capacity whose function is to capture this meaning. The term lsquo;lsquo;preconceptual facultyrsquo;rsquo; is also used by Allinson, interchangeably with the lsquo;lsquo;holisticrsquo;rsquo; or lsquo;lsquo;intuitiversquo;rsquo; cognitive capacity. Applying this to the Zhuangzi, Allinson argues that what appear to be relativistic statements in the text are made in the context of metaphors, and these statements serve to lsquo;lsquo;silencersquo;rsquo; the analytic faculty of the readerrsquo;s mind.4 This silencing of the analytic faculty enables the mindrsquo;s preconceptual faculty to grasp the inherent cognitive content of the metaphors . Allinson provides the following argument:
If we could translate a metaphor into a literal prose paraphrase without any cognitive remainder,we could then say that we have understood a metaphor through a conceptual or second-level order of processing. If, however, we cannot translate a metaphor into a literal prose
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