Introduction

There has been a phenomenal growth of interest in metaphor as a subject of

study in recent decades. While literature and the arts, as far back as Plato,

have always recognized metaphor as a source of poetic meaning, this new

interest in metaphor is part of a shift in thinking which asserts that the

metaphorical creation of meaning holds significance for the way we under-

stand the construction of knowledge and the world. The following works

give a good indication of the scope of metaphor research, and contain

extensive bibliographies: Barcelona 2000; Gibbs 1994; Knop et al. 2005; Ko¨vecses 2002; Lakoff and Johnson 1980, 1999; Ortony 1993; Ricoeur

1978a; Sacks 1978. However, despite the large volume of material published

on the cognitive potential of metaphor, little has been done to assess how

claims made within the field draw upon continental philosophy, or how

continental philosophy might contribute to our understanding of the cog-

nitive reach of the figure. These omissions are addressed in this book. The

continental tradition from Kant to Derrida, I maintain, provides arguments

which not only inform and support existing claims for the cognitive value of metaphor, but also extend the significance of the figure to the point where it

becomes an ontological tension, operating in between the fundamental dis-

tinctions of philosophy.