ANALOGY AND METAPHOR AND SYSTEMS AND CYBERNETICS METHODOLOGY

Abstract

Systems and cybernetic methodology have traditionally drawn upon the concepts of analogy and metaphor. These are, however, contentious on both philosophical and practical grounds. The work we present in this paper mostly aims to overcome the philosophical difficulties by uncovering the basic principles of analogic modeling and by showing how these can complement inductive and deductive reasoning. Analogy and metaphor are then shown to be complementary and can be considered to be on one spectrum, from creative metaphor to the more formal approach of analogy. Contention on practical grounds is allayed as the role of analogy and metaphor in systems and cybernetic methodology is outlined.