Course Information
Course title
Metaphor Theories and Chinese Philosophy 
Semester
109-1 
Designated for
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS  GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY  
Instructor
WIM DE-REU 
Curriculum Number
Phl7167 
Curriculum Identity Number
124 M6770 
Class
 
Credits
3.0 
Full/Half
Yr.
Half 
Required/
Elective
Elective 
Time
Tuesday 3,4,5(10:20~13:10) 
Remarks
The upper limit of the number of students: 20. 
Ceiba Web Server
http://ceiba.ntu.edu.tw/1091Phl7167_ 
Course introduction video
 
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
Course Syllabus
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Course Description

This course offers an indepth exploration of current metaphor theories and recent metaphor research within the field of early Chinese philosophy. In the first part of the term, we build up the theoretical background, starting with two classical accounts of metaphor before delving into three recent approaches, namely, make-believe, contextual accounts of metaphor, and cognitive linguistics. In the second part of the term, we will review some of the representative literature on metaphor in Chinese philosophy and also take on a number of case studies. Metaphor research in Chinese philosophy has mainly adopted a cognitive linguistics approach. We will discuss some articles that take this approach as well as an article that is critical of it. We end the term with three case studies of metaphor in early Chinese philosophy: story, metaphor in dialogue, and metaphor in discursive text. 

Course Objective
The goal of this course is to familiarize students with different theoretical perspectives on metaphor and to examine to what extent they can be applied to the study of early Chinese philosophy. 
Course Requirement
Students are required to actively participate in discussion, take turns in presenting the designated readings, deliver an oral presentation on the topic of their final report, and submit the written version of their report. 
Student Workload (expected study time outside of class per week)
 
Office Hours
 
Designated reading
METAPHOR THEORIES

Bezuidenhout, A. (2001). Metaphor and What Is Said: A Defense of a Direct Expression View of Metaphor. Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 25(1), 156-186. doi:10.1111/1475-4975.00044

Camp, E. (2006). Contextualism, Metaphor, and What is Said. Mind & Language, 21(3), 280-309.

Davidson, D. (1984). What Metaphors Mean. In lnquiries into Truth and Interpretation (pp. 245-264). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Johnson, M. (2008). Philosophy’s Debt to Metaphor. In R. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought (pp. 39-52). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lakoff, G. (1993). The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and Thought, 2nd Edition (pp. 202-251). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Searle, J. (1979). Metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and Thought (pp. 83-111). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Walton, K. L. (1993). Metaphor and Prop Oriented Make-Believe. European Journal of Philosophy, 1(1), 39-56.

Walton, K. L. (2000). Existence as Metaphor? In A. Everett & T. Hofweber (Eds.), Empty Names, Fiction, and the Puzzles of Non-Existence (pp. 69-94). Stanford: CSLI Publications.

METAPHOR AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

Gandolfo, S. (2019). Metaphors of Metaphors: Reflections on the Use of Conceptual Metaphor Theory in Premodern Chinese Texts. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 18, 323-345.

Slingerland, E. (2004). Conceptual Metaphor Theory as Methodology for Comparative Religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 72(1), 1–31.

Slingerland, E. (2011). Metaphor and Meaning in Early China. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 10, 1-30.

Vankeerberghen, G. (2005-2006). Choosing Balance: Weighing (Quan 權) as a Metaphor for Action in Early Chinese Texts. Early China, 30, 47-89.  
References
Hills, D. (2017). Metaphor. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/metaphor/

Ortony, A. (ed.) (1993). Metaphor and Thought (2 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Walton, K. L. (1990). Mimesis as Make-Believe: On the Foundations of the
Representational Arts. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. 
Grading
 
No.
Item
%
Explanations for the conditions
1. 
Participation 
25% 
 
2. 
Presentations (of required readings) 
25% 
 
3. 
Preparatory presentations 
25% 
Two pages; upload by 12/11; in-class presentation on 12/15. 
4. 
Final report 
25% 
5000-7000 words (in Chinese), or 3000-5000 words (in English) 
 
Progress
Week
Date
Topic
Week 1
9/15  Introduction 
Week 2
9/22  Classical accounts of metaphor: Searle (1979) 
Week 3
9/29  Classical accounts of metaphor: Davidson (1978/1984) 
Week 4
10/06  Metaphor and make-believe: Walton (1993) 
Week 5
10/13  Metaphor and make-believe: Walton (2000) 
Week 6
10/20  Contextualist accounts of metaphor: Bezuidenhout (2001) 
Week 7
10/27  Contextualist accounts of metaphor: Camp (2006) 
Week 8
11/03  Metaphor in cognitive linguistics: Johnson (2008) & Lakoff (1993) (extracts) 
Week 9
11/10  CP Literature: Slingerland (2004) 
Week 10
11/17  Midterm break 
Week 11
11/24  CP Literature: Slingerland (2011) 
Week 12
12/01  CP Literature: Vankeerberghen (2005-2006) 
Week 13
12/08  CP Literature: Gandolfo (2019) 
Week 14
12/15  Preliminary presentations 
Week 15
12/22  CP Case study 1: Story 
Week 16
12/29  CP Case study 2: Metaphor in dialogue 
Week 17
1/05  CP Case study 3: Metaphor in discursive text 
Week 18
1/12  Final reports