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Your criticism of PG's metaphor applies to all metaphors. P.S.: The role of metaphor isn't to build an argument. It's to make it more vivid and easier to under

by asdflkj 19y ago

Your criticism of PG's metaphor applies to all metaphors. P.S.: The role of metaphor isn't to build an argument. It's to make it more vivid and easier to understand. (Bad writers use metaphors to try to build arguments, but PG didn't in this essay.) So even if the lion metaphor was a bad one (according to whatever criteria), that doesn't justify misinterpretation of the actual argument.

cperciva 19y ago
Your criticism of PG's metaphor applies to all metaphors. Absolutely. If you want people to take you literally, don't use metaphors. If, however, you want people to think about what you're saying and draw inferences... well, go ahead and use metaphors, but be prepared to deal with people misunderstanding what you intended to say (and have someone read over what you've written to look for anything which could be particularly badly misinterpreted).
- asdflkj 19y ago
  I edited my post without realizing you had already replied. See above.
- pg 19y ago
  I didn't say I wanted people to take me literally. I said I wanted people to respond to what I said. That includes interpreting metaphors correctly.