hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2025-03-02

■ #5788. 思考と現実 --- 意味論および言語哲学の問題 [thought_and_reality][semantics][philosophy_of_language][terminology]

　Saeed の意味論の概説書に "Thought and reality" と題する節がある．これは意味論 (semantics) と言語哲学 (philosophy_of_language) の接点というべき問題だ．英語の原文 (p. 45) を引用しながら，この方面のいくつかの用語を確認しておこう．

We can ask: must we as aspiring semanticists adopt for ourselves a position on traditional questions of ontology, the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of being and the structure of reality, and epistemology, the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge? For example, do we believe that reality exists independently of the workings of human minds? If not, we are adherents of idealism. If we do believe in an independent reality, can we perceive the world as it really is? One response is to say yes. We might assert that knowledge of reality is attainable and comes from correctly conceptualizing and categorizing the world. We could call this position objectivism. On the other hand we might believe that we can never perceive the world as it really is: that reality is only graspable through the conceptual filters derived from our biological and cultural evolution. We could explain the fact that we successfully interact with reality (run away from lions, shrink from fire, etc.) because of a notion of ecological viability. Crudely: that those with very inefficient conceptual systems (not afraid of lions or fire) died out and weren't our ancestors. We could call this position mental constructivism: we can't get to a God's eye view of reality because of the way we are made.

　意味論，ひいては言語学を学ぶ前提として，思考と現実の関係について言語哲学上の立場が複数あることは知っておきたい．

　・ Saeed, John I. Semantics. 3rd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.（比較的新しい意味論の概説書です）

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