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{
    "pk": 50385,
    "title": "Metaphorical Triangulation",
    "subtitle": null,
    "abstract": "Metaphors are powerful tools for explaining abstract concepts, but a single explanatory metaphor may be ineffective if the target system is sufficiently complex or the metaphor is counterintuitive. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research on metaphor and analogy, I describe a more systematic explanatory strategy: metaphorical triangulation. This involves (1) describing an intuitive mental model of the target phenomenon in terms of a concrete—but flawed—metaphor, drawing attention to its weaknesses; (2) presenting an alternative metaphorical model designed to address these weaknesses; and (3) providing supplementary metaphors to further develop the preferred account of the target phenomenon and address shortcomings of the alternative metaphor. I show how philosopher Daniel Dennett used this strategy to illuminate a range of puzzling issues, from evolution to consciousness, and I present some preliminary empirical support for this approach. I encourage scientists and educators to consider how they might use metaphorical triangulation in their work.",
    "language": "eng",
    "license": {
        "name": "",
        "short_name": "",
        "text": null,
        "url": ""
    },
    "keywords": [
        {
            "word": "Education; Linguistics; Philosophy; Psychology; Analogy; Consciousness; Reasoning; Case studies; Knowledge representation; Qualitative Analysis"
        }
    ],
    "section": "Member Abstracts with Poster Presentation",
    "is_remote": true,
    "remote_url": "https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5jc3d81r",
    "frozenauthors": [
        {
            "first_name": "Stephen",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Flusberg",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "Vassar College",
            "department": ""
        }
    ],
    "date_submitted": null,
    "date_accepted": null,
    "date_published": "2025-01-02T00:00:00+06:00",
    "render_galley": null,
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            "label": "PDF",
            "type": "pdf",
            "path": "https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/50385/galley/38347/download/"
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    ]
}