Despre utilizarea limbajului metaforic în științele naturii
On the use of metaphorical language in the natural sciences

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I will examine several examples drawn from the scientific literature in order to illustrate how, in the natural sciences, the recourse to metaphorical expressions often enables the construction of new conceptual tools and thereby contributes to an original understanding of observational data, facilitating the formulation of novel hypotheses and theories. I will argue that, although it is commonly assumed that metaphorical expression belongs primarily to the realm of literary discourse, we should not regard the use of metaphor in science as an exotic or marginal procedure. On the contrary, it plays an essential role in the functioning of the natural sciences and in the advancement of scientific knowledge. In this context, I will seek to briefly explain and illustrate the functions that metaphorical language can fulfill in the field of the natural sciences, providing a few examples from cosmology, physics, and biology.

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