The Analogy Of Logic And Logic Of Analogy

The Logic of Analogy

The need for another study on the doctrine of analogy in the writings ofSt Thomas may not be obvious, since a complete bibliography in this area would doubtless assume depressing proportions. The present work is felt to be justified because it attempts a full-fledged alternative to the interpretation given in Cajetan's De nominum analogia, an interpretation which has provided the framework for subsequent discussions of the question. Recently, it is true, there has been growing dissatisfaction with Cajetan's approach; indeed there have been wholesale attacks on the great commentator who is alleged to have missed the clef de voute of the metaphysics of his master. Applied to our problem, this criticism leads to the view that Cajetan was not metaphysical enough, or that he was metaphysical in the wrong way, in his discussion of the analogy of names. As its title indicates, the present study is not in agreement with Cajetan's contention that the analogy of names is a metaphysical doctrine. It is precisely a logical doctrine in the sense that "logical" has for St Thomas. We have no desire to be associated with attacks on Cajetan, the meta physician, attacks we feel are quite wrongheaded. If Cajetan must be criticized for his interpretation of the analogy of names, it is imperative that he be criticized for the right reasons. Moreover, criticism ofCajetan in the present study is limited to his views on the analogy of names.

The Logic of Metaphor

Some sentences in natural languages like English have multiple meanings. Steinhart (William Paterson U. of New Jersey) divides the meanings into literal and metaphorical, denies that they are the same, and denies that the metaphorical function is necessarily false or necessarily true. He argues that most metaphors are based on analogies, which he defines as the relative structural indiscernibility of parts of worlds, and that a metaphor is true for a particular world if and only if certain parts of that world are relatively structurally indiscernible, that is, are analogous. c. Book News Inc.

The Analogy of Logic, and Logic of Analogy