Metaphor and Analogy in the Sciences

No general encompassing theory on metaphor and analogy is available today. This is largely due to the many types of contexts in which metaphors and analogies occur, and to the many functions they serve. This collection of papers contains historical case studies, systematic contributions of a general kind, and applications to specific sciences. The bibliographies of the contributions contain references to all central items from the traditions that are relevant today. While providing access to contemporary views on the issue, the papers illustrate the wide variety of functions of metaphors and analogies, as well as the many connections between the study of some of these functions and other subjects and disciplines. The reader is confronted with the provisional and problematic aspects, the specificity of the problems, the specific constraints on their solution, etc. The major strength of the volume is that all the papers present results from active research and that several of them open up new lines of research.