Demystifying mysteries : how metaphors and analogies extend the reach of the human mind
- Author
- Maarten Boudry (UGent) , Michael Vlerick and Taner Edis
- Organization
- Abstract
- Some philosophers have argued that, owing to our humble evolutionary origins, some mysteries of the universe will forever remain beyond our ken. But what exactly does it mean to say that humans are ‘cognitively closed’ to some parts of the universe, or that some problems will forever remain ‘mysteries’? First, we distinguish between representational access (the ability to develop accurate scientific representations of reality) and imaginative understanding (immediate, intuitive comprehension of those representations), as well as between different modalities of cognitive limitation. Next, we look at tried-and-tested strategies for overcoming our innate cognitive limitations. In particular, we consider how metaphors and analogies can extend the reach of the human mind, by allowing us to make sense of bizarre and counterintuitive things in terms of more familiar things. Finally, we argue that this collection of mind-extension devices is combinatorial and open-ended, and that therefore pronouncements about cognitive closure and about the limits of human inquiry are premature.
- Keywords
- New mysterianism, Metaphors, Analogies, Cognitive closure, Imaginative understanding, Representational access
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8757154
- MLA
- Boudry, Maarten, et al. “Demystifying Mysteries : How Metaphors and Analogies Extend the Reach of the Human Mind.” Metaphors and Analogies in Sciences and Humanities : Words and Worlds, edited by S. Wuppuluri and A. C. Grayling, vol. 453, Springer, 2022, pp. 65–83, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-90688-7_4.
- APA
- Boudry, M., Vlerick, M., & Edis, T. (2022). Demystifying mysteries : how metaphors and analogies extend the reach of the human mind. In S. Wuppuluri & A. C. Grayling (Eds.), Metaphors and analogies in sciences and humanities : words and worlds (Vol. 453, pp. 65–83). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90688-7_4
- Chicago author-date
- Boudry, Maarten, Michael Vlerick, and Taner Edis. 2022. “Demystifying Mysteries : How Metaphors and Analogies Extend the Reach of the Human Mind.” In Metaphors and Analogies in Sciences and Humanities : Words and Worlds, edited by S. Wuppuluri and A. C. Grayling, 453:65–83. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90688-7_4.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Boudry, Maarten, Michael Vlerick, and Taner Edis. 2022. “Demystifying Mysteries : How Metaphors and Analogies Extend the Reach of the Human Mind.” In Metaphors and Analogies in Sciences and Humanities : Words and Worlds, ed by. S. Wuppuluri and A. C. Grayling, 453:65–83. Cham: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-90688-7_4.
- Vancouver
- 1.Boudry M, Vlerick M, Edis T. Demystifying mysteries : how metaphors and analogies extend the reach of the human mind. In: Wuppuluri S, Grayling AC, editors. Metaphors and analogies in sciences and humanities : words and worlds. Cham: Springer; 2022. p. 65–83.
- IEEE
- [1]M. Boudry, M. Vlerick, and T. Edis, “Demystifying mysteries : how metaphors and analogies extend the reach of the human mind,” in Metaphors and analogies in sciences and humanities : words and worlds, vol. 453, S. Wuppuluri and A. C. Grayling, Eds. Cham: Springer, 2022, pp. 65–83.
@incollection{8757154,
abstract = {{Some philosophers have argued that, owing to our humble evolutionary origins, some mysteries of the universe will forever remain beyond our ken. But what exactly does it mean to say that humans are ‘cognitively closed’ to some parts of the universe, or that some problems will forever remain ‘mysteries’? First, we distinguish between representational access (the ability to develop accurate scientific representations of reality) and imaginative understanding (immediate, intuitive comprehension of those representations), as well as between different modalities of cognitive limitation. Next, we look at tried-and-tested strategies for overcoming our innate cognitive limitations. In particular, we consider how metaphors and analogies can extend the reach of the human mind, by allowing us to make sense of bizarre and counterintuitive things in terms of more familiar things. Finally, we argue that this collection of mind-extension devices is combinatorial and open-ended, and that therefore pronouncements about cognitive closure and about the limits of human inquiry are premature.}},
author = {{Boudry, Maarten and Vlerick, Michael and Edis, Taner}},
booktitle = {{Metaphors and analogies in sciences and humanities : words and worlds}},
editor = {{Wuppuluri, S. and Grayling, A. C.}},
isbn = {{9783030906870}},
issn = {{0166-6991}},
keywords = {{New mysterianism,Metaphors,Analogies,Cognitive closure,Imaginative understanding,Representational access}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{65--83}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{Synthese Library}},
title = {{Demystifying mysteries : how metaphors and analogies extend the reach of the human mind}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90688-7_4}},
volume = {{453}},
year = {{2022}},
}
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