Shipwrecked or Boaters: for a Nautical Metaphorology of Existence

Abstract

In order to keep afloat a meaningful life, some ways of understanding the existence as a whole may be more functional than others. This functionality depends on the metaphorical background that holds these understandings and their hermeneutical performance: on one hand, their ability to provide direction as responses to questions about the meaning of anything, on the other, as visions that challenge us to act in one way or another. The purpose of this article is to examine the performance of some types of metaphors in order to understand the existence as a whole. It contrasts H. Blumenberg’s assessment of the metaphor “shipwreck with spectator” as paradigm of existence, with the assessment of “constant navigation”, as a metaphor that allows us to appreciate the mundane tasks that usually make significant the life of human beings.