Abstract

Metaphors are abundant in Wittgenstein's work. The question for the philosopher is what do these metaphors have to do with the presentation of Wittgenstein's ideas--does he do philosophy in spite of metaphorical interruptions? Are the metaphors mere window-dressings? Or are they integral to the setting-forth of his thought? This paper claims that the latter alternative is the right one: in many cases metaphor not only is the most apt, cogent, and economical means of characterizing an insight, it is the only one available or likely to succeed. And once articulated, a metaphor becomes a further tool to use in extending the original comparison. ;In surveying several major theories of metaphor, we find that each of them has something enlightening to offer, yet none captures all the facets of metaphorical usage, and indeed, each has substantial deficiencies. Metaphor remains difficult to characterize. ;In Wittgenstein's work we find that a great abundance of metaphor illustrates many of the aspects that arise in these theories. The central metaphor of the Tractatus is the picture theory, but it needs to be bolstered up by other sets of metaphors. The conclusion is unmistakably clear that the work is in large part an elaborate metaphor, and that if it is taken as such, will skirt many misunderstandings and misreadings. The metaphors here capture insights and cut through the abstractness in a strikingly successful way. In the Philosophical Investigations, I point out the variety and cogency of many of his metaphors and similes. Some of them are not contained in a word or sentence, but extend with various nuances into a larger domain, becoming a catch word to cover a whole range of ideas. ;Wittgenstein does not have a theory of metaphor, but we can adapt some of his remarks about other matters, such as seeing-as, and apply them to further explanations of metaphor. As a final perspective, we note that figures of speech are merely one of the many devices that mark his style