Response: Neutral Rationality

In response to Stacy Fisher's post "Half-Beliefs" (February 19, 2012):

It seems possible that someone could hold a half-belief which is rational if their conscious choice of belief is not rational.  For example, if someone believed that evolution was a myth, they might still hold a half-belief that it was not, due to the arguments of others who accepted the reality of evolution.

Regarding rational half-beliefs which do not depend on irrationality of other beliefs to exist, I cannot think of any.  However, I can think of some which are not totally irrational.  Belief in a deity, for example, is often neither rational nor irrational.  Many deities have undisprovability built into their very definitions, in the sense that they are said to be unknowable.  As such, their existence is purely a matter of conjecture.  If a person was not certain whether or not they believed in such a deity, the might be considered to hold a non-irrational half-belief.

Q&A 5, Second Answer

The basic form of my question is: Do metaphors which make obscure references have value?

In certain specific settings, I think so.  Settings wherein one can assume that any readers of the metaphors will be familiar with all or at least most of the references might work here.  Also, setting where readers will likely know some of the references and would be interested in the ones they do not know (such as making references to many science fiction books at a science fiction conference) might provide options as well.

Q&A 5, First Answer

My question is: Is there such a thing as a visual metaphor?

This would depend heavily on one's exact definition of metaphor.  However, if one defines a metaphor as "one thing used or considered to represent another" (which is one of the dictionary definitions of metaphor) then I think there is.  A painting, for example, which shows an eagle holding on to a red arrow might be a metaphor for the possibility of the United States adopting communist policies.

Simile might also be usable in visual form, although all the definitions of simile that I have seen do say that it must be a figure of speech.  A modified form of simile might be possible however - showing a man (perhaps named Richard) alongside a lion, with the two figures in similar poses with similar expressions, could possibly be a visual representation of the simile "Richard is like a lion."

Metaphor in Philosophical Works

In Wednesday's class, we discussed the pros and cons of using metaphors in philosophical works.  The most significant negative aspect of the idea was the vagueness inherent in metaphorical language; the most significant positive aspects were the brevity, potency or vividness, and attention-drawing aesthetic value of such language.  One aspect we did not address, however, is the emotionally evocative nature of metaphors.

The way in which metaphors tend to create emotional reactions in those to whom they are addressed makes them very useful in persuasive contexts, such as political speeches, persuasive articles, and religious scripture.  All of these contexts freely make use of emotion to convince their addressees to change or strengthen their views to match those of the person or people using the metaphor.  Philosophical essays, on the other hand, are typically supposed to convince their readers of the validity of their point through rational argument, not appeal to emotions or intuitions.  Using metaphors to persuade others in a philosophical context is, I think, a misuse of metaphor.  Using metaphors for other purposes (clarification, example, aesthetic value) in such a context, however, is not inadvisable.