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SUMMARY:Metaphors in scientific practice: how they function\, how they som
 etimes get entrenched\, and how to evaluate them - Anna de Bruyckere
DTSTART:20130507T121000Z
DTEND:20130507T130000Z
UID:TALK44478@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Xinyi Liu
DESCRIPTION:In the history of philosophy\, metaphors were long thought to 
 be delusive and dangerous\, mere rhetorical or linguistic devices that did
  not have any cognitive importance. In the last few decades\, the philosop
 hy of science literature has opposed this view and has emphasized metaphor
 s’ creativity and heuristic power. However\, it has failed to present a 
 critical account of how metaphor’s cognitive dimension can also limit ou
 r view onto the phenomena we are trying to understand\, quite apart from b
 eing very productive inferentially. An account of how metaphors can become
  so entrenched in thought that they become constitutive for how we perceiv
 e the world should allow for critical discussion of both productive and co
 unterproductive features of metaphor usage in scientific discourse. Moreov
 er\, if metaphors can indeed be highly consequential for scientific percep
 tion and cognition\, such an account should address the question of how an
 d when (if at all) to evaluate metaphors. These issues will be under discu
 ssion with the help of a specific example from financial economics: ‘fin
 ancial ecosystems’ as a means of conceptualizing the systemic nature of 
 financial risk and stability.
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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