Abstract

This article deals with metaphors of classical bacteriology, especially in the writings of Robert Koch, that conceive primitive monocellular organisms as human-like creatures with intentions and the capacity to act. It is shown how different theoretical approaches towards metaphor help to describe different functions of Koch’s tropes: while conceptual metaphor theory and Ludwik Fleck’s ›Gestaltsehen‹ explain their epistemological impact within the laboratory, wider effects such as political normativity and aesthetic transformation can be described with Jürgen Link’s theory of ›collective symbols‹. Finally, Koch’s writings on Cholera that conceive deadly germs as invading predators are discussed from the perspective of postclassical narratology.