Analogical and Metaphorical Thinking in the Mencius, Xunzi and Zhuangzi

Abstract

This paper shows how analogies found in Mencius, Xunzi, and Zhuangzi serve critical functions in the course of philosophical argument and debate. By pointing to similarities and differences between things, analogies serve to make distinctions, force the clarification of terms, question assumptions, and reveal entrenched metaphorical models of thought. These are analytical, argumentative functions and not lively descriptions, as sometimes thought.