The Metaphor-Science Connection

In his De Poetics, Aristotle wrote that “the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learnt from others; it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissirdars.” 1 By Aristotle’s standards, few of us would qualify as “a master of metaphor. ” In fact, merely distinguishing the term “metaphor” from the related devices “analogy” and “simile” has been for mea source of some insecurity over the years. In spite of such insecurity, or perhaps because of it, the interrelationships between language, creativity, art, and science have always intrigued me. In two essays on the poetry-science connection,2.J for example, I discussed scientists who demonstrate uncommon skill with language and imagery in the verse they write. Metaphor, of course, is an essential component of poetic language. My aim in this essay, however, is to examine some of the uses of metaphor in science and to provide a bibliographic survey of selected literature on the topic. As we shall see, metaphor enters into the communication of scientific ideas and at times influences the form dation of scientific problems and the ways in which problems are conceptualized and approached. Thuty years ago in Science I proposed the creation of the Science Citation Zndex” (.!KW ).4 Were that paper to be republished now, I would argue that, among other things, the SCI is a tool for October 20.1986