The Fabric of Metaphor in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason

The Fabric of Metaphor in Kant's CritiqueofPure Reason DAVID W. TARBET I THE STYLV.OF MOST PHILOSOPHICwriting is determined by its need to be as clear and comprehensive as possible. In the preface to the first edition of the Critique o/Pure Reason, Kant recognizes the reader's just demand for both logical and aesthetic clarity, but he immediately .emphasizes logical, or what he calls "discursive" clarity, and limits the examples and illustrations needed for an aesthetic presentation? The consequence of this emphasis is a movement away from figurative language toward a highly conceptual wording, and this in proportion to the intensity of the line of argument. In the important Transcendental Deduction, particularly as stated in the second edition of the Critique, Kant's language becomes so spare that there is scarcely a concrete noun to excite the image-making power of the mind. It is doubtful, however, whether any sustained piece of writing could avoid the use of metaphor, and outside of the conceptual language which occupies the body of the Critique, Kant employs a finely woven fabric of metaphor in his work. While our consideration of style shows that a study of Kant's metaphors cannot be a surrogate for grappling with his arguments, an examination of their important supporting role can lead to an understanding of Kant's habits of association , his relation to other disciplines, and his own personality. They also serve to indicate his desired emphases, and here a general observation may be made noting that metaphors appear less in the middle of chapters or sections where the hearts of arguments lie, and more in opening and concluding paragraphs or passages where they can legitimately effect a subtle influence without tampering with the line of reasoning. There is one notable exception to this observation in Kant's wide and fully integrated use of metaphors drawn from the field of jurisprudence. Their involvement in all areas of the Critique will require a careful tracing of their development and a close view of their operation later in this paper. Closer study might best begin with metaphors which I term illustrative. They stand in the conventional position outside the line of argument, and serve primarily as illustrations of the text. Because they appear in relative isolation, they are allowed to unfold fully and often have a finish which distinguishes them in the reader's mind. Of all the metaphors in the Critique these are most likely to be remarked and remembered. ~Critique o] Pure Reason, trans. Norman Kemp Smith (2nd ed.: London, 1933), A, xviixviii . All references to the Critique o] Pure Reason will be to the Kemp Smith translation. Page numbers of the German editions will appear enclosed in parentheses immediately following the quotation or other reference. [257] 258 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY A good example of an illustrative metaphor is Kant's picture of "the light dove," which "cleaving the air in her free flight, and feeling its resistance, might imagine that its flight would be still easier in empty space." He goes on to explain that: It was thus that Plato left the world of the senses, as setting too narrow limits to the understanding , and ventured out beyond it on the wings of the ideas, in the empty Space of pure understanding. He did not observe that with all his efforts he made no advance--meeting no resistance that might, as it were, serve as a support upon which he could take a stand, to which he could apply his powers, and so set his understanding in motion. (AS-B9) The metaphor has two aspects which are combined in the above example, but tend to separate into positive and negative divisions in later mentions of flying, leaping and soaring. The negative aspect predominates and is most frequently reiterated. In the Ideals of Pure Reason, Kant's disapproval of the dove's flight increases, for he says that "it stretches its wings in vain in thus attempting to soar above the world of sense by mere power of speculation" (A591-B619: italics mine). Related metaphors censure reason's "leap out beyond the context of sensibility " (A563-B591), its "soaring so far above all possible experience...