Within a framework of maximum validity in Western philosophy, Pier Aldo Rovatti analyzes the relationship between metaphor and philosophy. As old as philosophy itself, this relationship is once again very topical and the author proposes to analyze why the metaphor is today at the center of attention.
The guidelines of the most recent philosophical reflection assume more than ever that thought is no longer a tightly structured and hierarchical building, but is in a constant movement of transformation and transition. In this process the metaphor has an essential function of bridge and articulation. Authors such as Derrida, Ricoeur or Blumenberg have shown that metaphor has a theoretical importance that exceeds any location in a particular discipline. That is why philosophy must investigate its new place in contemporary language.
The first part of the work takes as its axis Heidegger's reflections on metaphor and its decline and shows how the lines of force that intersect in his thought connect with current philosophical approaches.
The second part studies in detail the surprising function of key metaphors in the thought of Neitzsche, Bergson, Derrida, Lévinas and Blumenberg.
This work is a very valuable contribution to contemporary philosophy and its most burning proposals.