Terminologia e Lexicografia

Epistemology, Philosophy of Language and Linguistic Philosophy

Philosophy and language

Three areas of philosophy relevant to the understanding of language
Epistemology or the theory of knowledge The Philosophy of Language Linguistic Philosophy

Epistemology
How do we know? Why do we know? What do we know? What can we know? Knowing that Knowing how (Question: know = saber / conhecer ?)

Main questions
Is knowledge innate or acquired?
Are we somehow pre-destined to know certain things? How far do we acquire knowledge only from experience?

Rationalism v empiricism
Do we arrive at our view of the world through reason alone? Do we deduce all we know from experience?

Other questions
What is perception? What is reason? What is reality? What is appearance? What is our knowledge of the external world?

Other questions
How reliable is our perception of the external world? How do we solve the other minds problem? How far can we reach agreement on the nature of what we perceive individually and collectively? What part does language play in our understanding of the world?

Other questions
What is it to know something? What is truth? What counts as evidence for or against a particular theory? What is meant by a proof? Or even, as the Greek Skeptics asked, is human knowledge possible at all, or is human access to the world such that no knowledge and no certitude about it is possible?

SIX DISTINCTIONS OF KNOWLEDGE

1. Mental versus non-mental conceptions of knowledge
Awareness of knowlege v unconscious knowledge

2. Dispositional v. Occurrent conceptions of knowledge

e.g. A sugar cube dissolves in water /The sugar cube dissolved in the water.. e.g. Passive and active knowledge

 3. A priori versus a posteriori knowledge

Necessary versus contingent propositions Analytic versus synthetic propositions Tautological versus significant propositions Logical versus factual propositions
"All husbands are married" > a priori, necessary, analytic, tautological, logical "All Model-T Fords are black" > a posteriori, contingent, synthetic, significant, factual

4. Knowledge by acquaintance or first-hand experience Knowledge by description or by learning from others 5. Description attempts to depict accurately certain features of the world Justification - how one can justify certain sets of beliefs 6. Knowledge and certainty - Is it possible for someone to know that p without being certain that p?

Origins of knowledge
Consider the notions of:
Ideas in mathematics Innate v. Learned Rationalism v. Empiricism Tabula rasa Skepticism

Notes on early Epistemology

Sophists - sophistry Socrates what is piety? Plato Platonic ideas Aristotle passive intellect and active intellect Skepticism - knowledge is impossible St. Augustine ideas and illumination Medieval philosophy - "faith seeking reason"

Modern philosophy 17 c.
Faith/revelation and reason Impact of modern science on epistemology Descartes
intuition and deduction Cogito, ergo sum Innate ideas Duality of mind and body

Modern philosophy 18-19 c.

The empiricists
Locke tabula rasa Berkeley Hume

Kant the transcendental idealist Hegel all knowledge must be expressible in language

Contemporary philosophy 20c Continental philosophy

Husserl phenomenology Heidegger Being and Time Merleau-Ponty Phenomenology of Perception Sartre - Being-in-itself (en soi) v being-for-itself (pour soi) Foucault - The Archaeology of Knowledge Derrida - deconstruction Dewey experience = an interaction between a living being and his environment

Contemporary philosophy - Analytic philosophy

The most distinctive feature of analytic philosophy is its emphasis upon the role that language plays in the creation and resolution of philosophical problems Derived from:
Symbolic logic British Empiricism

Leading to:
Formal approach Ordinary language approach

Philosophy and language

Formal approach:
Bertrand Russell, Gottlob Frege, Rudolf Carnap, Alfred Tarski, W.V.O. Quine, and early Wittgenstein

Ordinary language approach

G.E. Moore, Gilbert Ryle, J.L. Austin, Norman Malcolm, P.F. Strawson, Zeno Vendler, and late Wittgenstein

The Philosophy of Languge versus Linguistic Philosophy

The philosophy of language is the name of a subject matter within philosophy; linguistic philosophy is primarily the name of a philosophical method. But the two, method and subject are intimately connected. (Searle 1971:1) The subject has changed according to the ideas which prevail The method is close to that of logic and mathematics

Philosophy and Semantics

Commonsense philosophy Logical positivism Naturalized epistemology Perception and knowledge Realism Phenomenalism

Anthropology, Sociology and Semantics

Humboldt Boas Sapir Whorf Late Wittgenstein Bernstein

Psychology and Semantics

Piaget developmental psychology Chomsky Language and Mind Jackendoff - Semantics and Cognition Langacker cognitive linguistics Lakoff Metaphors we live by and Women, Fire and Dangerous Things Penrose The Emperors New Mind Patricia Churchland - Neurophilosophy Damsio Descartes Error

Non-Vocal Communication & Semantics

Sign Signal Icon Symbol Gestures Kinesics Proxemics Pictures, diagrams etc

The Semantic triangle 1

Real world

Mental representation

Name

Language universals
Universals coming from innate ideas - Part of our soul / spirit - God-given - Part of our mind Genetically programmed part of the brain Holistic knowledge

Linguistic relativism
Learning from experience of the world Language as a social / cultural contract Languages provide prisms through which we view the world therefore all languages provide a different possibility for understanding the world Different social groups filter the language differently Each individual has a unique vision of the world

The Semantic Triangle 2

Res

Concept

Word / term

Res
Variation of understanding due to:
Geographical differences Cultural differences Social differences Educational differences Individual differences

Concept
Objective conceptualisation
Concrete objects Observable actions Observable qualities of the world

Subjective conceptualisation
Abstract ideas Mental processes Subjective appreciation of the world

REMEMBER: the distinction between objective and subjective is fuzzy

Words and Terms

This is the point of departure for the next few lessons!