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Simile as the “Best Thing” in Philosophy
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
I
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)
II
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.
