Portraying Analogy [Paperback]

James Ross offers a comprehensive theory of analogy.In the first full treatment of the subject since the fifteenth century, James Ross argues that analogy is a systematic and universal feature of natural languages, with identifiable and law-like characteristics which explain how the meanings of words in a sentence are interdependent.In the first full treatment of the subject since the fifteenth century, James Ross argues that analogy is a systematic and universal feature of natural languages, with identifiable and law-like characteristics which explain how the meanings of words in a sentence are interdependent.The attention of philosophers. linguists and literary theorists has been converging on the diverse and intriguing phenomena of analogy of meaning:the different though related meanings of the same word, running from simple equivocation to paronymy, metaphor and figurative language. So far, however, their attempts at explanation have been piecemeal and inconclusive and no new and comprehensive theory of analogy has emerged. This is what James Ross offers here. In the first full treatment of the subject since the fifteenth century, he argues that analogy is a systematic and universal feature of natural languages, with identifiable and law-like characteristics which explain how the meanings of words in a sentence are interdependent. Throughout he contrasts his with classical and medieval views.Preface; Introduction; 1. The limitations of classical analogy theory and the Miller's Analogies transition; 2. The genus: meaning differentiation; 3. Predicate schemes: an explanatory model; 4. Equivocation, analogy and metaphor; 5. Denominative analogy and paronymy; 6. Figurative discourse; 7. Analogy and religious discourse: craftbound discourse; 8. Analogy and analysis; Notes; Bibliography; Indexes.