Bravo. Bravo. (Insert here the sound of applause.)
[Host's Note: Sorry, sound will not be available until a future
enhancement of the LO list. ...Rick]
Winfried Dressler posts a well written and eloquent argument regarding the
merits -- and limits -- of the organismic metaphor, closing with a
response to an earlier posting from Steve Eskow:
Steve Eskow:
>>For those of us who are practitioner[s] the usefulness of a particular
>>fiction, or metaphor, is in the value we find when we "read" a particular
>>situation through that metaphor.
Winfried Dressler:
>May I include another value, especially for marketing purposes and
>dialogue: It is also important to know, what other people (one rely on)
>"read" in a particular situation by looking through the metaphor they use.
>It helps to avoid to tell them that their reading is wrong and to offer
>just another lens instead.
>I believe that metaphors are one of the greatest learning tools.
Winfried is not alone in that view. One of my favorite quotes follows:
"The metaphor is probably the most fertile power possessed
by man."
Jose Ortega y Gasset
The Dehumanization of Art
Regards,
Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
nickols@worldnet.att.net
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.html
--Fred Nickols <nickols@worldnet.att.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>