This book deals with the understanding of “metaphorical thought” and argues that any account of metaphor understanding that assumes a mental realist or cognitivist position will collapse into absurdity or meaninglessness thus making the understanding of metaphor impossible. This book shall be based upon empirical arguments, with regard to metaphor, in the cognitive sciences and philosophical perspectives on metaphoric “thought” i.e. Black, Beardsley, Ricour, Searl, Davidson. Using three mechanistic modals of metaphoric comprehension and construction: magistic; verbal associative and abstract representation I will show that these mechanistic arguments end in: circularity of argument: infinite regress: dilemmas and paradox if we assume that “thought” has and essence i.e. language images etc,