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                         Simile as the “Best Thing” in Philosophy
                               

                                           Yasemin J. Erden, St. Mary’s University College

                                              

similes are always useful for us because they are the best thing of all in philosophy. If we take this remark at face value, simile would come to occupy a position in philosophy perhaps level with, perhaps surpassing, some typically analytical or logic-based approaches

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What the mean of simile?

Simile is a phrase that uses the words like or as to describe someone or someting by comparing it with someone or something else that is similar

Example : statistics is just like a girl in a bikini: it reveal almost everyting except the  most important one” ( statistik itu sperti gadis pakai bikini , ia membuka hampir semuanya kecuali bagian yang paling penting)

Selain itu simile juga bermanfaat untuk menasehati ,memberi masukan pada orang lain atau menghibur teman yang sedang sedih.

Example : “ life is like an onion : you peel it off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep ( hidup itu seperti bawag merah , kita kupas satu lapisan demi satu lapisan , dan kadang-kadang kita menaggis dibuatnyaa

My friend , you are as gloomyy as a thunderstorm and as cheerless as prison.c’mon ! let’s have fun and we will be as happy as a rose –tree in sunshine (Temanku, kamu sama suramnya seperti badai dan tidak bersukacita seperti penjara. Ayo! Ayo bersenang-senang dan kita akan bahagia seperti mawar -tree di bawah sinar matahari)

The difference between simile and metaphor

Many people have trouble distinguishing between simile and methapor. A glance at their latin and grekk roots offers a simple way of tellimg these two closely-related figures of speech apar. Simile comes from the latin word similis(meaning “similar, like”) which seems fitting, since the comparison indicated by simile willl tpically contain in the word as or like .metaphor , on the other hand, comes from the greek word metapherein ( to transfer) which is also fitting , since a metaphor is used in place of something .

Example : “my love is like a red , (red rose” is a simile, and love” is a methapor)

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The  meaning of simile to be “the best thing of all” in philosophy

intention in declaring simile best in philosophy becomes extremely significant, particularly when we consider some of the problems associated with simile and metaphor as methods of description. Consider, for instance, where Wittgenstein shows that a simile, although frequently

“If we looked at the brain we could see thinking from the outside,we feel it from the inside.”

This is an expression of confusion.

This is only a simile.

You assume there is a thing you can see in two ways. This is a confusion that you talk about seeing in two ways. You can see a building from the inside or outside, but you can’t see a visual image from the inside or outside.You have two different images. They are not the same. To some extent this potential for confusion is a worrying prospect for creative approaches within philosophy.

If it is true that philosophical problems are indeed merely puzzles, then it is primarily this notion that informs the claim that simile is most useful in the analysis of such puzzles.And by simile we can, as argued above, include various other literary devices. For if the problems of philosophy are only puzzles, it stands to reason that any sophisticated technical analysis should be unnecessary and thus afford them (the puzzles) more weight than they warrant.While philosophical viewpoints, on the one hand, might promote the importance of these puzzles, simile and other literary devices, on the other, offer a change of aspect, which might present perspectives that – as often as not – show the insignificance of such issues (in relation to the everyday world,). simile and thereby metaphor) specifically, and creative language more generally, should therefore be better appreciated as a method through which the

philosopher can free herself from the bounds of philosophical confusion.