Metaphor and Knowledge Change

In a recent magazine article, the issue of government control of research agendas was explored by using the metaphor "Science is a flashlight .." Science, like a flashlight, is bounded in its scope: Only areas directly under its beam are visible . So far, the metaphor may seem obvious, but,a,further implication is that because of this boundedness, decisions about , the .-,direction of the beam are crucial. Until recently, the article pointed out, scientists have had the major say in where the flashlight was aimed, but increasingly it is government agencies, not scientists, who control the direction of search. The notion of controlling the direction of science was presumably not a new issue to readers . Nevertheless, the metaphor,contributed a new connection : The fact that vision is limited makes it crucial who controls its direction . There is broad consensus that metaphors can lead to change of . knowledge . In some cases, the change seems one of enrichment : New concepts, connections, or perspectives are added to the underlying representations . In other cases, the change involves the re-representation of old concepts and./or the restructuring of the conceptual, systems . ' Yet despite this agreement;'there is little consensus on how sucli'change might occur: that is, on what processes might bring about knowledge