Freedom of Metaphor and its Manipulation — The Metaphor of Growth in Context

20.07.2011

Economic growth has become one of our holiest notions. The gross national product cannot grow in a real sense; otherwise it would at some point reach maturity like a flower or a cow. In actuality, economic growth is a metaphor manipulated for political purposes to such an extent that its analogous function is forgotten. How does it happen that metaphors are so frequently manipulated? What makes metaphors so susceptible? Under which conditions could metaphors unfold free of manipulation? The lecture has explored these questions.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Taureck teaches Philosophy at the Technical University of Braunschweig. His work particularly concerns the meaning of metaphors, how they have developed in philosophic discourse over the course of human history, how their significance has changed, and how they affect the social thinking and behavior of human beings.