A Davidsonian Response to the Dead Metaphor Problem

In his article, "What Metaphors Mean," Donald Davidson presented his own unique theory of metaphor. While this theory has proved to be influential, there seems to be one problem which a Davidsonian theory cannot account for: the dead metaphor problem. Due to certain aspects of Davidson's theory of metaphor, critics argue that it is impossible for Davidson to explain how dead metaphors form. In this thesis, I will show why Davidson's account should be chosen over other prominent theories of metaphor, and how a Davidsonian might be able to bypass the dead metaphor problem.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Philosophy

Department dc:contributor.department

Philosophy

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Wilson, Richard James

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Epstein, Brian

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Klagge, James C.
• Ott, Walter R.

• non-literal meaning
• Black
• Fogelin
• Reimer

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-05122008-011046

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/32647