异端的理论与合理的解释——评叶闯教授新著《语言·意义·指称——自主的意义与实在》

本文简要介绍评价<语言·意义·指称>一书中的哲学观点,作者在该书中提出了一个与传统语义理论完全相反的语义理论,从区别语义学指称和形而上学指称开始,作者定义了语义学标记,对否定存在陈述、空名陈述、分析性等语言哲学的重要难题给予了全新的解释,但这一解释是否完全、一致、系统而且直观仍然是一个有待讨论的问题.     

The Meaning of Emotion in the White Afrikaans Language Group: A Componential Emotion Theory Approach

This study determined the meaning of emotion in a sample of white Afrikaans-speaking adults (n=120; males =32, females=88, age range =18–48+ years). Data were collected using the Meaning Grid (Scherer, 2005). The analysis examined the factor loadings of emotion words via a factor analysis and factor scores of 24 emotion terms were determined. Results indicated the following dimensions to characterize the meaning of emotion in the sample: activation-pleasantness, arousal/unpredictability and a power-control. The conclusion can be drawn that four dimensions are needed to satisfactory represent the meaning of emotion words in the white Afrikaans language group.     

Radical Semantics: A New Theory of Meaning

This paper extends Parikh’s earlier work in semantics with games of partial information and attempts to derive and represent the full content of an utterance from first principles. It also discusses various ways in which this content may be indeterminate.     

Chomskyan Theory of Language: A Phenomenological Re-evaluation

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - The field of enquiry into the phenomenon of language has long been dominated by the Computational-Representational (C-R) theories of language....     

Poles of Meaning: Pushing Language Up and Down

I discuss the problem of using the emotional/cognitive duality as a satisfactory way of formulating the problem of linguistic origins and of the distinctiveness of literary language. I address in particular Shanahan’s use of the work of Ernst Cassirer and Susanne Langer. I point out that Cassirer offers us a multileveled model of language’s sense-functions which avoids false oppositions and that Langer shows that literature does not belong to the discursive but to the presentational order of symbolism. Such insights strengthen rather than weaken Shanahan’s main points about the ‘localization’ and nature of meaning.

Meaning Naturalism, Meaning Irrealism, and the Work of Language

I defend the hypothesis that organisms that produce and recognize meaningful utterances tend to use simpler procedures, and should use the simplest procedures, to produce and recognize those utterances. This should be a basic principle of any naturalist theory of meaning, which must begin with the recognition that the production and understanding of meanings is work. One measure of such work is the minimal amount of space resources that must go into storing a procedure to produce or recognize a meaningful utterance. This cost has an objective measure, called Kolmogorov Complexity. I illustrate the use of this measure for a naturalist theory of meaning by showing how it offers a straight solution to one of the most influential arguments for meaning irrealism: the skeptical challenge posed by Kripke’s Wittgenstein.     

意之所在,不言而会——老庄意会认识论初探

中国意会认识论发韧于《老子》 ,集大成于《庄子》 ,本文论析了老庄意会认识论的来源、内涵、特点。     

寻求神学语言的意义--麦奎利的语言哲学简论

约翰·麦奎利 (ＪｏｈｎＭａｃｑｕａｒｒｉｅ)是当代西方著名的神学家和哲学家。他在哲学上既表征着欧陆哲学的主流 ,也表征着英美哲学的主流。作为中庸的神学家和清明的哲学家 ,其思想因广博而简明、中正而公允在西方学术界而著称。他在语言学研究方面造诣颇深 ,其语言理论 ,尤其在神学语言与逻辑研究方面 ,对西方神学和哲学产生了深远的影响。如果把麦奎利的神学语言理论称为“神学语言学”的话 ,那么他的一般语言观则属于基本的“语言哲学”。他的语言哲学与其神学语言学紧密相连 ,是其神学语言学的理论基础。本文旨在论述麦奎利对语言…     

真与意义理论

意义理论是语言哲学的核心内容。意义理论与语言相关,因而与对语言的使用和理解相关,与语言所表达的世界相关。今天,意义理论受到哲学家们的高度重视,有关讨论广泛而深入,观点各异,成果多样。在今天的讨论中,真之极小论、真之紧缩论、真之去引号论、真之代句子理论等一些新的真之理论业已成为重点。但是,真之符合论、真之实用论等传统理论也仍然被涉及,并且由于深入讨论而得到新的认识,尽管许多结论是否定的。在我看来,意义理论的最大特征是与真这个概念密切相关,或者说,真这个概念是意义理论的核心概念。正因为这样。如今的讨论,无论是什么观点,几乎都预设了一个前提:塔尔斯基的语义理论。如果引申开来,甚至可以看到,正是基于真的解释,人们对意义理论形成不同的看法。比如戴维森的意义理论被称为真之理论,即基于T语句提出了一种如何理解语言的真之理论,而达米特则认为这只是对部分语言提出解释,并没有对整个语言的运作提出一种解释。所以,戴维森的解释顸设了对真这个概念的理解,他认为要围绕着真来考虑问题,而达米特虽然承认真这一概念的重要,却认为对真这个概念本身要进行思考,而且要超出这个概念来考虑我们的语言。我翻译过奎因的《真之追求》(三联书店,1999年)、达米特的《分析哲学的起源》(上海译文出版社,2005年),戴维森的《真与谓述》(上海译文出版社,2007年即出),也翻译过一些文章发表在本刊(例如参见《世界哲学》2006年第1期、第2期)。我希望国内读者能够了解和重视这方面的研究情况。编译下面这些内容,也有相同的意思。     

Passionate Yearning Theory as a Theory of Meaning in Life

In this paper, I offer an original account of meaning in life, which I call the passionate yearning theory. Within the framework of the passionate yearning theory, meaning is understood as the intrinsically derived yearning, and passionate striving, for something (an ideal, or a state of affairs) that possesses some plausible objective claim to truth or facticity, which makes it worth pursuing for its own sake. To properly delineate the view, I present the various criteria that serve as the foundation for the passionate yearning view. These include the truth/facticity criterion, the lack of immorality, intrinsic subjectivity, passion, yearning and striving. I then show how these criteria coalesce into the passionate yearning theory and how exactly the theory works. Finally, I motivate the passionate yearning theory by addressing some possible criticisms and objections that can be raised against the view and also differentiate it from similar competing views.

     

Balance Theory: Possible Consequences of Number of Family Members

This paper outlines one theoretical issue involved in considering the relationships that may exist in a family. The usual approach is to treat the family as a whole, made up of n members. The main issue here is the effects of the numerical size of the family and the many possible total and sub-total relationships that may exist within family constellations. Family structure and function is multivariate, but the focus here is the numberical factor.