Metaphor and Theory
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CSUDH - Habermas - UWP

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan, Transcend Art and Peace
Created: November 13, 2001
Latest Update: November 20, 2001
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Olivier Urbain, Soka University

The Metaphorical Society:
An Invitation to Social Theory

By Daniel Rigney

Teaching and Review Essay by Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata
Copyright: Jeanne Curran, Susan R. Takata, and Olivier Urbain: November 2001.
and Individual Authors. "Fair Use" encouraged.

This essay is based on Daniel Rigney's The Metaphorical Society: An Invitation to Social Theory. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2001. ISBN: 0-7425-0938-9 (pbk.)

On pp. 7-8 Rigney compares our understanding of society as social theorists to the Blind Man's understanding of the Elephant. Good example of the arrogance of our "knowingness."

More soon . . . . but meanwhile, The Blind Men and the Elephant files to share.

The eight metaphors Rigney considers are :

1. Society as Living System
2. Society as Machine
3. Society as War
4. Society as Legal Order
5. Society as Marketplace
6. Society as Game
7. Society as Theater
8. Society as Discourse

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Relevant References:

• The Blind Men and the Elephant: A Hindu fable by John Godfrey Saxe
• The Blind Men and the Elephant Compare the images.
• The Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant Same image at The Blind Men and the Elephant Notice how switching backgrouind colors switches the feeling. Consider the Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman.
• Teaching with the Blind Men and the Elephant Well-designed site for explanations and questions for teaching young people.
• The Blind Men and the Elephant This file is illustrated by photos where the elephant's leg really does look like a tree! Notice that the file is on a government genome site!

• The Blind Men, The Elephant, and Concurrent Engineering With Apologies to John Godfrey Saxe (1816 - 1887). Modification by Gretchen L. Van Meer. Worth reading. A rephrasing of the poem. No images.

• The Blind men and the Elephant "Note: The Blind Men and the Elephant occurs in the Udana, a Canonical Hindu Scripture." Identified the source! That warmed the cockles of my heart. jeanne

• Ramkali, My Elephant By Geeta Khadka, of Nepal. A narrative that gives a much better sense of the Other. And suitable for children.