Analogy and Philosophical Language

Book excerpt: The most useful and available key to someone's position lies in the expressions he is prepared to make his own. Language clearly reflects the bearings we have taken as well as it reveals how aware we are that we have taken them. The language he uses not only shows us where someone stands but also lets us in on the extent to which he understands where he stands. And if the expressions we are prepared to utter are so revealing about our position in the world, perhaps the language we use can also reveal some basic facts about the world itself--or the world as we most basically see it. Language would then prove a valuable key to that style of question long called metaphysical. This book is an attempt to follow out some of the clues that language gives us about the world, specifically those offered by a privileged set of expressions: analogous terms.