Incommensurability And Cross Language Communication

A dominant epistemological assumption behind Western philosophy is that it is possible to locate some form of commonality between languages, traditions, or cultures - such as a common language or lexicon, or a common notion of rationality - which makes full linguistic communication between them always attainable. Xinli Wang argues that the thesis of incommensurability challenges this assumption by exploring why and how linguistic communication between two conceptually disparate languages, traditions, or cultures is often problematic and even unattainable. According to Wang's presuppositional interpretation of incommensurability, the real secret of incommensurability lies in the ontological set-ups of two competing presuppositional languages. This book provides many original contributions to the discussion of incommensurability and related issues in philosophy and offers valuable insights to scholars in other fields, such as anthropology, communication, linguistics, scientific education, and cultural studies.

Contributors from the fields of philosophy, history of science, linguistics, logic, and economics take inspiration from the work of the late Thomas Kuhn, scholar of history and the philosophy of science, to address a variety of research lines in the pragmatical dimension of language, the internal ambiguity of linguistic standards, and the critical role of constructive translation as a bridge between seemingly incommensurable paradigms and cultures. The volume's 28 contributions are divided into four sections: incommensurability, translation, and theory change; communicating science; cognition and formal reconstruction; and lexicon and semantics and primarily consist of articles which emerged from the International Conference on Languages of Science, organized by the University of Bologna in October 1995. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

What standards should we use to evaluate culturally distinct philosophies? What kind of barrier does language or cultural difference pose in our attempts to understand other traditions? How do we avoid our comparisons being biased? Doing Philosophy Comparatively answers these questions by providing a thorough overview of the methodology involved in extending philosophy across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Now revised and updated to showcase the most recent developments in the field, this second edition engages with philosophies beyond the Anglo-European tradition and features: · Examples of cross-cultural philosophy from a wider range of non-Western traditions · Methodological innovations from works of comparative philosophy published in the last decade · Focused exercises for each chapter demonstrating how to interact meaningfully with primary texts and engage with recent debates in comparative philosophy · Updated discussion questions and readings Introducing the main problems, methods, and approaches of comparative philosophy, this new edition shows you how to make informed cross-cultural judgments through reflection and practice. It remains an essential toolkit for the practice of doing comparative philosophy.

Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan dismantles the preconception that Buddhism is a religion of mystical silence, arguing that language is in fact central to the Buddhist tradition. By examining the use of 'extraordinary language'-evocations calling on the power of the Buddha-in Japanese Buddhist Tantra, Richard K. Payne shows that such language was not simply cultural baggage carried by Buddhist practitioners from South to East Asia. Rather, such language was a key element in the propagation of new forms of belief and practice. In contrast to Western approaches to the philosophy of language, which are grounded in viewing language as a form of communication, this book argues that it is the Indian and East Asian philosophies of language that shed light on the use of language in meditative and ritual practices in Japan. It also illuminates why language was conceived as an effective means of progress on the path from delusion to awakening.

Human beings have an intrinsic need to be with people who are similar to themselves. This is because they share the same ways of doing things, the same values, and function according similar rules. When one is with people who tend to be similar, human behavior is normalized, and one’s actions appear to be in accordance with those exhibited by others in one’s social circle. However, sometimes it becomes apparent that the situation is somewhat more complex. When this happens, one realizes that the issues that have been taken for granted about human interaction are not necessarily the same for everyone. This book elucidates what happens in the processes of communication when people from different cultural backgrounds experience other cultures. Emphasis is also given to the issue of interaction between people from various cultures. The book highlights the aspects that are recognized to posit difficulties in conveying messages from one culture to another. The notions of schemata, frames, scenarios and cultural scripts are outlined. The third part of the book examines some principles of critical discourse analysis, including, for instance, socio-political attitude, as well as concentrating on the notion of power relations of groups, legitimated by text as well as speech. This part also describes the concept of persuasion, as well as persuasive communication. The fourth part of the book is analytic. Attention is given to various discourses one encounters in everyday life and to the examination of various kinds of discourse, including for instance, complimenting, as well as political, discourse. As such, this book provides a new point of view for linguists as well as those interested in communication practice. The empirical part of the book will help shed some light on dilemmas people may be obliged to face in their career, and should be especially useful to students of intercultural communication.

This book presents a dynamic history of the ways in which translators are trusted and distrusted. Working from this premise, the authors develop an approach to translation that speaks to historians of literature, language, culture, society, science, translation and interpreting. By examining theories of trust from sociological, philosophical, and historical studies, and with reference to interdisciplinarity, the authors outline a methodology for approaching translation history and intercultural mediation from three discrete, concurrent perspectives on trust and translation: the interpersonal, the institutional and the regime-enacted. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of translation studies, as well as historians working on mediation and cultural transfer.

This volume uses historical epistemology in order to address several topics in the history of economic thought, with special emphasis on ecological economics, environmental metaphors of scarcity, and mathematical ecology. Using the field of ecological economics as an anchor point, the author reflects on the styles of reasoning in economics with a view towards understanding the nature of disagreement that stems from a failure of communication between rival approaches in economics. A thorough inquiry into issues related to identity, coherence, pluralism, and reception, this volume will appeal to researchers and students interested in history of economic thought, ecological economics, and philosophy of the sciences.

Text analysis tools aid in extracting meaning from digital content. As digital text becomes more and more complex, new techniques are needed to understand conceptual structure. Concept Parsing Algorithms (CPA) for Textual Analysis and Discovery: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides an innovative perspective on the application of algorithmic tools to study unstructured digital content. Highlighting pertinent topics such as semantic tools, semiotic systems, and pattern detection, this book is ideally designed for researchers, academics, students, professionals, and practitioners interested in developing a better understanding of digital text analysis.