So I'm going out on a limb here... I was rereading Walter Benjamin's "Theses on the Philosophy of History" for my final paper and I was wondering if he is committing any of Fischer's fallacies of semantical distortion, notably the fallacy of figures.  The excerpt is quite eloquent, although just because something has lovely prose doesn't mean its logically flawless.  The chapter is essentially posing a discussion of historical materialism vs. historicism in the writing of history, but there is a heavy use of metaphor throughout.  Phrases like "the storm of progress" and "angel of history," while lovely, seem a bit vague and hollow in actual meaning.  Is "the storm" referring to modernity?  Also, Benjamin commits a fallacy of analogy in his linking of materialism to marxism.  I realize he is fleeing Nazi police in Spain when he wrote this, but is this assumption a bit...harsh?  I mean, not all materialists are Nazis or fascists or socialists.

I'm really not sure if this connection to Fischer's chapter applies here, but I thought it was a question worth posing.  This excerpt is arguably the most figurative language-laden assignment we've had this term, and I think its a mistake to assume that just because its well-written and moving that it also without fallacious comments.
-kaitlyn thornton.