Die Metapher im Kontext einer allgemeinen Symboltheorie

Two aspects form the basis of the general theory of symbols, which the American philosopher Nelson Goodman designed in one of his major works, Languages of Art, as the center of his analytical philosophy. On the one hand, every symbolization presupposes reference; on the other hand, all kinds of symbolization— as acts of performance—take place in the area between syntactically and semantically unambiguous (formal, notational) and neither syntactically nor semantically unambiguous (pictorial, representational) systems of symbols. In short, this occurs in the area of tension between science and art. Thus, there must be an area in which these two extreme modes of representation merge, and it is precisely in this area, according to the central thesis of this book, that the process of metaphor formation can be located. This has consequences for a viable K.