Article ID: CBB968160953

Inhibition and metaphor of top-down organization (2020)

unapi

The paper discusses the metaphorical nature and meaning of a concept, inhibition, ubiquitous in physiological, psychological and everyday descriptions of the controlling organization of human conduct. There are three parts. The first reviews the established argument in the theory of knowledge that metaphor is not ‘merely’ figure of speech but intrinsic to language use. The middle section provides an introduction to the history of inhibition as a concept in nervous physiology and in psychology. This emphasizes the conjoined descriptive and normative character the concept has had, integrating science and the ordinary person's understanding of the achievement of top-down control in organized systems. The last section introduces a different dimension to the history and logic of control, pointing out that ‘economic’, as opposed to hierarchical, models of control also exist. The conclusion asserts the flexible, particular character of metaphor, encompassing mental and bodily realms – and hence the importance of historical work for its comprehension.

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Article Christopher Donohue (2020) Social borrowings and biological appropriations: Special issue introduction. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (p. 101309). unapi

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Authors & Contributors
Reydon, Thomas A. C.
Hélène Gaget
James Esposito
Conix, Stijn
Chiapperino, Luca
van de Wiel, Lucy
Concepts
Philosophy of biology
Terminology and nomenclature
Biology
Metaphors; analogies
Psychology
Species concept (biology)
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
20th century, late
21st century
18th century
Places
Argentina
Germany
Institutions
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
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