Thinking of Others: On the Talent for Metaphor

Description

Argues that the ability to imagine oneself as another person is an indispensable human capacity - as essential to moral awareness as it is to literary appreciation - and that this talent for identification is the same as the talent for metaphor. This title offers an original meditation on the necessity of imagination to moral and aesthetic life.

Ted Cohen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of "Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters."

"Ted Cohen's little philosophical essay on how metaphor gets us to think of others was tremendous."--James Wood, NewYorker.com "This is really philosophy at its best: clearly written and free from jargon, sophisticated yet unpretentious, and highly engaging."--Jeanette Bicknell, Philosophy in Review "Cohen has given us, in wonderfully readable and analytically acute form, an unforgettable study of a complexly interwoven set of linguistic, perceptual, and imaginative abilities that not only make us who we are, but make us who we are together."--Garry L. Hagberg, Mind "Ted Cohen's work on metaphor is well known in the profession, so it comes as no surprise to us that he has now written a splendid book on the subject."--Peter Kivy, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism "The important, intriguing subject of this small book by Cohen--one's capacity to understand others--is full of perplexing puzzles. Through careful analysis of interesting examples, Cohen makes readers wonder about some of the major impasses in mutual understanding between people with different religious perspectives, with different racial and social experiences, and even with allegiances to different baseball teams."--S.A. Mason, Choice "[W]hy not invest in Cohen's book? I assure you it will return handsome dividends, even in the present economy."--Peter Kivy, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism