In simile one thing is said to be like another; in metaphor it is said to be another. As long as the metaphor is "alive" the equation is understood as an analogy, whereas in "dead" metaphor the identity of the terms is accepted. There is a tendency for "live" metaphors to regress into the "dead" metaphors that shape the thought and action of both analysands and analysts. Analytic concepts are sometimes little more than reifications of unconscious fantasies which, as "dead" metaphors, "possess" us. Such metaphorical monopolies reflect a fetishism of the imagination that breeds intolerance. On the other hand, "live" contrast, in which one thing is said to be (relatively) distinct from another, tends to regress to "dead" contrast or splitting in which two things are said to be (absolutely) antithetical. A conception of psychoanalysis as the enlightening transformation of "dead" metaphors (fusions) and contrasts (splits) into "live" ones is developed. (Donald Carveth)