<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Yablo argued that some metaphors are representationally essential: they enable us to express contents that we would not be able to express without them. He defended a fictionalist view of mathematical language by making the case that it similarly serves as a representational aid. Against this, Colyvan argued that metaphorical/figurative language can never play an essential role in explanation and that mathematical language often does, hence concluding that Yablo’s fictionalism is untenable. I show that Colyvan’s thesis about explanation is highly implausible in the absence of a challenge to Yablo’s position on representationally essential metaphors, which Colyvan does not attempt. I also briefly discuss other attempts to produce a simple knock-out argument against fictionalism and show them wanting.</p></abstract>

Yablo argued that some metaphors are representationally essential: they enable us to express contents that we would not be able to express without them. He defended a fictionalist view of mathematical language by making the case that it similarly serves as a representational aid. Against this, Colyvan argued that metaphorical/figurative language can never play an essential role in explanation and that mathematical language often does, hence concluding that Yablo’s fictionalism is untenable. I show that Colyvan’s thesis about explanation is highly implausible in the absence of a challenge to Yablo’s position on representationally essential metaphors, which Colyvan does not attempt. I also briefly discuss other attempts to produce a simple knock-out argument against fictionalism and show them wanting.

Figurative Language in Explanation

Disputatio

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Figurative Language in Explanation"}

Yablo argued that some metaphors are representationally essential: they enable us to express contents that we would not be able to express without them. He...

Figurative Language in Explanation

Publié en ligne: 31 déc. 2018

Pages: 33 - 48

Reçu: 26 oct. 2011

Accepté: 08 avr. 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2013-0003

Mots clés
Explanation, metaphor, figurative language, fictionalism, ontology, belief, make-believe, acceptance, fictionalist attitude, fictionalist acceptance, literal use, figurative use, paraphrase, Stephen Yablo, Mark Colyvan

© 2013 Inga Nayding, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figurative Language in Explanation

Publié en ligne: 31 déc. 2018

Pages: 33 - 48

Reçu: 26 oct. 2011

Accepté: 08 avr. 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2013-0003

Mots clésExplanation, metaphor, figurative language, fictionalism, ontology, belief, make-believe, acceptance, fictionalist attitude, fictionalist acceptance, literal use, figurative use, paraphrase, Stephen Yablo, Mark Colyvan

© 2013 Inga Nayding, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
Explanation, metaphor, figurative language, fictionalism, ontology, belief, make-believe, acceptance, fictionalist attitude, fictionalist acceptance, literal use, figurative use, paraphrase, Stephen Yablo, Mark Colyvan