122 cosmos
cognitive act of originality, by which we alter our way of structuring reality.”^25
Thus metaphor is as important to human thought as mathematics. Metaphors
serve a purpose that “standard discursive language will not and cannot serve.”^26
Metaphorical thinking is often rejected merely because the hearer cannot fit it
into his or her personal provisional cognitive framework.
A metaphor is the use of a word or phrase or depiction to give a fuller
understanding of what is referred to; it operates through the tension between
identity and difference. “Man is a wolf ” shows both the identity (humans are
ferocious) and the difference (humans are not quadrupeds).^27 A metaphor can-
not be True or False, but it can be trite or shallow.^28 It has been said that all
natural language is metaphorical.^29 Scientific diagrams, creeds, architectural
drawings, paintings, maps, poetry, are all metaphorical. Even the most abstract
artwork is a metaphor for the culture that has expressed it. Any nontautological
statement—any statement with an intended external referent—is meta-
phorical.
But in a deeper sense, to say that all language is metaphor completely
dissipates the meaning of the word “metaphor.” Physicalism assumes that
meaningful language is restricted to the analytical and descriptive; but expres-
sive, suggestive, figurative language can be even more meaningful. Whereas
analytical language narrows down toward an answer, or at least an analytically
definable question, figurative language opens up to a rich multitude of mean-
ings. The greater the variety of meanings, the greater the intellectual stimu-
lation, the greater the emotional depth, the more original, the more cultural
resonance, the more senses it draws upon,^30 the more archetypal of human
experience, the more the richness of the history of the words or phrases, the
less worn out: the better metaphors are “depth-metaphors.” Depth-metaphors
engender meaning that goes beyond the things being compared. Depth-
metaphors are “signs,” “symbols” (Greeksymbola) suggesting qualities not im-
mediately evident and implying things beyond. Depth-metaphors convey true
meaning, cognitive content.
Some metaphors are so simple that we commonly refer to them as facts,
such as “a star is a ball of fire.” A vast spectrum exists from such simple
metaphors to “see how the heavens are covered with patines of bright gold”
(Merchant of Venice, 4.1). The more complex the concept is, the greater the
range of metaphors it can open up. Metaphors are more authentic as they
indicate broader and deeper realities, less valid as they confuse or restrict mean-
ing. A metaphor is most authentic when it is intentional to the ultimate mean-
ing of the cosmos. It is a current academic assumption that there is no such
thing as the ultimate meaning of the universe and that therefore it is impos-
sible to consider one metaphor stronger than another. That this is a popular
view among clever people setting limits to their own imagination is undeniable;
that it is either true or helpful is dubious.
Strong metaphors bring us closer to reality, not by narrowing down but