Against the interaction theory of metaphor

In the interaction theory of metaphor, metaphorical meaning arises from the interaction between features of the source and the target, producing a seeing-as effect: seeing the target as the source. This effect is taken to be essential to the cognitive and linguistic significance of metaphor. I challenge this view. First, I present metaphorical utterances that resist interactionist analysis. I then propose an alternative interpretive mechanism that is simpler and more plausible. The challenge for this alternative is to explain the so-called emergent property problem. I argue that these properties are not intended by the speaker as part of the metaphorical content; rather, they emerge during attempts to paraphrase it. Finally, I discuss and reject the interactionist claim that seeing-as is essential to metaphor.