"A 'river' or a 'stream' is the metaphor by which" consciousness "is most naturally described" so that one may talk of "the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life."
— James, William (1842-1910)
Author
Work Title
Date
1890
Metaphor
"A 'river' or a 'stream' is the metaphor by which" consciousness "is most naturally described" so that one may talk of "the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life."
Metaphor in Context
Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as "chain" or "train" do not describe it fitly as it presents itself in the first instances. It is nothing jointed; it flows. A "river" or a "stream" is the metaphor by which it is most naturally described. In talking hereafter, let us call it the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life.
(p. 233)
(p. 233)
Categories
Provenance
Reading Jerold J. Abrams' "Philosophy after the Mirror of Nature: Rorty, Dewey, and Peirce on Pragmatism and Metaphor." Metaphor and Symbol. 17.3 (2002): 227-42. p. 236.
Citation
James, William. Principles of Psychology. 2 vols. <Link to Christopher D. Green's online edition at York>
See also James, W. The Principles of Psychology (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1983).
See also James, W. The Principles of Psychology (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1983).
Date of Entry
08/11/2005
Date of Review
03/15/2009
