C. S. Lewis on Reality and Metaphor. From Myth to History and Back Again

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Estera Federciuc

Abstract

The role of metaphor in understanding reality has been a recurring question in the field of metaphor theory. C. S. Lewis, influential scholar, author, and Christian apologist, presents a compelling perspective on metaphor as a means of understanding reality. This paper explores Lewis’s view on the possibility of speaking about reality through metaphor. By reality, Lewis understands both the physical and the supra-physical world. The first section of this article outlines how, for Lewis, metaphorical language can depict the spiritual or supra-natural world. The second section argues that a good metaphor has a meaning that is given rather than invented and the physical realm functions as a basis to understand the spiritual realm, and that this up-down-up direction of metaphorical expression conveys it most effectively. In the third section, I show how good, meaningful metaphors are true and allow us to make valuable and true statements because they convey reliable knowledge about reality. They also require action, the work of the will towards the good, and encourage stock responses. Section four presents metaphor as a linguistic tool which can unveil a connection between the observable physical world and the non-observable world. Additionally, the article briefly examines the disparities between Lewis’s views and some dominant philosophical trends, as well as two theories of metaphor, the interaction theory and the conceptual theory. The choice of these two theories of metaphor is based on their particular differences with Lewis’s view on two key aspects that are fundamental to the theory of metaphor, namely, meaning and truth.

Article Details

How to Cite
Federciuc, E. “C. S. Lewis on Reality and Metaphor. From Myth to History and Back Again”. Linguaculture, vol. 15, no. 1, June 2024, pp. 57-74, doi:10.47743/lincu-2024-1-0367.
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Articles
Author Biography

Estera Federciuc, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania

Estera Federciuc is currently a PhD student in the Doctoral School of Philological Studies, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Iasi, currently preparing a thesis on the functions of metaphors in C. S. Lewis’s works from a translation perspective. She earned an MA in Specialised Translation and Studies in Terminology from the University of Bucharest and a BA in Translation and Interpretation at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi. She studied as an Erasmus student at the Catholic University of the West in Angers (BA) and at Lumière University Lyon 2 (MA) and will be at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, again as an Erasmus+ student, during the second semester of her current PhD year. Before starting her PhD, she worked as a trainee translator in Luxembourg, as an English teacher and French-Romanian interpreter in Lyon, as a translation project manager for a company in Bucharest and as a French teacher at the French Institute of Bucharest. In addition to her interests in C. S. Lewis, linguistics and translation, she enjoys conversations about the writings of the other Inklings, especially J. R. R. Tolkien, and about biblical theology and philosophy.

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