Can we find truth in a metaphor?

I found this weekend's Durkheim reading to be very fascinating. It seems that Durkheim is claiming that the division of labor has influenced much more than political economy. Yes, it does further our intellectual motivations and capacity for production but has a strong influence on humans' lifestyle choices, beliefs, and identity as a modern society. The division of labor has created the modern inequality among men and women. He writes, "in those distant times woman was not at all the weak creature that she has become as morality has progressed" (Durkheim 18). Only through the division of labor did this inequality continue to widen and even altered the concept of the relationship or the marriage.

While the division of labor creates a separation, it also binds us together, increasing our dependence on one another, and for Durkheim this is the source of "social solidarity". Out of this desire to achieve some sort of solidarity come manifestations such as law and religion. It is wrong to say that religion has shaped some of our laws or vise versa? Is it wrong for humans to allow these rules to define what is moral or immoral?

I also saw a lot of elements from Marx's work in the Durkheim reading, such as Marx's idea of "self-alienation". Durkheim makes a religious reference to the Pentateuch writing, "punishment was determined only by the judge who applied it" (Durkheim 51). I found it very relevant to Marx by showing the power that is in the hands of the "alien" or the "judge". It seems that humans do need these metaphors to determine what is moral and not. After all, these metaphors are the basis for all structures of our society on a collective and individual level. I think there is definitely truth in that.