A History of Language Philosophies

Formigari, Lia

doi:10.1075/sihols.105

Cited by 18 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Such precise, naked appearances in the mind, without considering how, whence, or with what others they came there, the understanding lays up (with names commonly annexed to them) as the standards to rank real existences into sorts, as they agree with 1 Formigari (1988, p. 173-95) remains a fundamental study on Locke's theory of language. See too Aarsleff (1982), Yolton (1985), Dunn (1986), Auroux (1988), Taylor (1990), Yolton (1993), Ayers (1997), Formigari (2004), Pritchard (2013), Stuart (2015) Prato (2017) and Thiel (2018). 2 For an overview of the semiotic-linguistic ideas of the Enlightenment, I have chiefly taken account of: Aarsleff (1982;1987), De Mauro -Formigari (1990), Auroux (1993), and Formigari (2017).…”

Section: Language and Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Why is Locke's Linguistic Theory Still Current and Interesting Today?

Prato¹

2019

Eur. j. lang. lit. stud.

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In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Locke set out to offer an analysis of the human mind and its acquisition of knowledge still very current and important today. Locke offered also an empiricist theory according to which we acquire ideas through our experience of the world. The article examines Locke’s views on language and his principal innovation in the field of linguistic theory, represented by the recognition of the power of language with respect to the classification of the world, and its relative independence from reality. In particular the following topics are discussed: a) the polemical contrast with Cartesian philosophy b) the criticism that Locke levels against innatism c) the function of abstraction of the mind d) the concept of semiotics as a theory of thought and its expression e) the radical concept of arbitrariness f) the pragmatic factor intrinsic to Locke’s linguistics described as “communicational scepticism”.

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Section: Language and Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Why is Locke's Linguistic Theory Still Current and Interesting Today?

Prato¹

2019

Eur. j. lang. lit. stud.

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“…We are talking about what the map of the London Underground can encode, in terms of information about travelling through the network, positions of the stations, interconnections, available routes etc., which, allegedly, would be at least partly beyond the expressive power of any natural language to convey. But since natural languages have been acknowledged to be "semantically omnipotent" at least since Leibniz (Formigari (2004), pp. 91-92), one can arguably assume that the translation is always possible, even if it is likely to be onerous at times and hence often unfeasible in terms of resources.…”

Section: First Step: Translationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semantic information and the correctness theory of truth

Floridi¹

2011

The Philosophy of Information

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Semantic information is usually supposed to satisfy the veridicality thesis: p qualifies as semantic information only if p is true. However, what it means for semantic information to be true is often left implicit, with correspondentist interpretations representing the most popular, default option. The article develops an alternative approach, namely a correctness theory of truth (CTT) for semantic information. This is meant as a contribution not only to the philosophy of information but also to the philosophical debate on the nature of truth. After the introduction, in section two, semantic information is shown to be translatable into propositional semantic information (i). In section three, i is polarised into a query (Q) and a result (R), qualified by a specific context, a level of abstraction and a purpose. This polarization is normalised in section four, where [Q + R] is transformed into a Boolean question and its relative yes/no answer [Q + A]. This completes the reduction of the truth of i to the correctness of A. In sections five and six, it is argued that (1) A is the correct answer to Q if and only if (2) A correctly saturates Q by verifying and validating it (in the computer science's sense of "verification" and "validation"); that (2) is the case if and only if (3) [Q + A] generates an adequate model (m) of the relevant system (s) identified by Q; that (3) is the case if and only if (4) m is a proxy of s (in the computer science's sense of "proxy") and (5) proximal access to m commutes with the distal access to s (in the category theory's sense of "commutation"); and that (5) is the case if and only if (6) reading/writing (accessing, in the computer science's technical sense of the term) m enables one to read/write (access) s. Section seven provides some further clarifications about CTT, in the light of semantic paradoxes. Section eight draws a general conclusion about the nature of CTT as a theory for systems designers not just systems users. In the course of the article all technical expressions from computer science are explained.

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“…In fact, the study of language has a history comparable to the study of philosophy, fine arts, and literature (see, for example, Formigari, 2004). Yet, such efforts have not always been philosophical, with some branches of linguistics trying to find solution to language-related problems in the real world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions of Grand Linguistic Theories to Second Language Acquisition Research and Pedagogy

Alimohammadirokni¹

2015

IJEL

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Research on second language acquisition (SLA) and use has always been enriched by linguistic schools and theories. The purpose of the present paper is give readers a snapshot of contributions grand linguistic theories have made to L2 acquisition research and pedagogy. The grand linguistic theories chosen for review in the present study include Structural Linguistics, Nativism, Functional Linguistics, and Cognitive Linguistics. These four linguistics theories have been, and some of them are, paid much more focus in the field of linguistics than other theories. In fact, the areas of SLA research and pedagogy have been highly influenced by these four grand linguistic theories. However, their impacts on these two areas have not been equal and, as a matter of fact, some of linguistic theories have more influenced SLA research while other theories have had implications more for SLA pedagogy. The contributions of the aforementioned grand linguistic theories to SLA research and pedagogy are discussed, along with criticisms against the contributions of each linguistic theory posed by the rival researchers.

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A History of Language Philosophies

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Why is Locke's Linguistic Theory Still Current and Interesting Today?

Why is Locke's Linguistic Theory Still Current and Interesting Today?

Semantic information and the correctness theory of truth

Contributions of Grand Linguistic Theories to Second Language Acquisition Research and Pedagogy

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