The truth of metaphor: An application of correspondence theory

In this paper, I will briefly review the history of the principle of verification through an overview of the development of positivist theory, exploring the enduring and powerful effect that this perspective had at that time and the effect this paradigm has had on how we understand what constitutes scientific thought and scientific activity. Largely neglected in this overwhelmingly positivist view has been a critical address of the role that metaphorical expressions and metaphorical thought have to play in the process of scientific explanation and the theory-building that is the foundation of scientific discovery. I review the semantic features of metaphorical expressions in an attempt to demonstrate the power of metaphor in the scientific process. I will offer as an example of effective, research-building scientific models based on metaphor-generated theoretical systems, Karl Pribram's Holographic Paradigm.