I agree with Jay (see below) that LINGUISTICALLY speaking there is no clear
boundary between a metaphor and a plain text (action). However,
PRAGMATICALLY speaking there is sometimes a HUGE difference between a
metaphor and a plain text (or action) because practical consequences are
different.
Sometimes the difference between metaphor and plain text (action) can cost
you life. My grandma told me a story about her co-workers in the 40s (in
the former USSR). One of her colleagues invited others for a party. A
guest went to a bathroom and found that a newspaper with a photo of comrade
Stalin was used as toilet paper (it was a common tradition in the former
USSR to use newspaper as toilet paper -- there was no alternative). Next
day the guest reported to NKVD (lately KGB, the Soviet secret police) and
the host disappeared (my grandma always checked newspaper before putting
them in her restroom). A linguist might say that there is no way to
discriminate between innocent recycling newspaper and political act of
disgracing comrade Stalin, but a KGB officer would say that the difference
between a metaphor and plain action like between black and white. I'm
afraid that I'd side myself with the KGB offer rather than with the linguist
in this dispute.
Closer to home ( which home? :-) (I mean the US), I want to remind you about
another dispute about the difference between a metaphor and plain text:
abortion controversy. Should be the statement "embryo is a baby" considered
as a metaphor or as a plain text? I think that voices from academic
practices crossing with other voices from other practices to stress or fade
the difference.
Similarly, consideration of education as transmission of knowledge versus as
transformation of participation in a sociocultural practice might have very
blur linguistic difference but huge practical difference in educational
practices. Ideology of education as transmission of knowledge suggests
one-sided (teacher's) assuming responsibility for guidance, curriculum, and
educational activities; while ideology of education as transformation of
participation leaves the issue of responsibility open and, thus, promoting
experimentation of how responsibility for guidance and educational
activities can be shared between teacher and students.
Eugene Matusov
UC Santa Cruz
At 11:37 PM 4/22/96 EDT, Jay Lemke wrote:
>The 'transmission' of culture is achieved through some sort of
>material exchange between organisms, if one wants to look at
>it that way (e.g. passing words and tools back and forth), but
>it is a long-standing 'metaphor' (nothing is literal, nothing
>is metaphoric; those notions are gross oversimplifications of
>how we make meaning with verbal expressions) which connotes
>efforts to achieve the maximal similarity in beliefs, practices,
>norms, values, etc. between the transmitters (i.e. those who
>are partners in activity, but with greater power) and the
>transmittees (coerced partners).
>
>I don't think one need necessarily see such a great difference
>between transmitting a virus and transmitting a mathematical
>algorithm, if you want to describe them similarly. JAY.
>
>
>JAY LEMKE.
>City University of New York.
>BITNET: JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM
>INTERNET: JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
>
>
------------------------
Eugene Matusov
UC Santa Cruz