Chapter 2 The Linguistic Turn Flashcards
When does language become important?
Whats is tension at heart of German Idealism surrounding language?
The tension is that some approaches put subject at centre and some some suggest that subject dependent on something other than self.
How does ideology enter the story?
The tension explains why ‘unconscious’ develops at this time. And ideology combines issues of langauge and the unconscious. Emerges in FR and originally meant system of ideas. But soon develops, via Marx, as term indicating people who believe their actions are self-determined but who are actually unconsiously dependent on dominant ways of speaking and acting of their class.
what about anthropology?
Part of what leads to anthropology awareness that natural language is not just means of saying same things in different language. Depends on encounters with world. Questions of linguistic identity also link to emergence of nationalism. Herder sometimes, and largely unwarranted, viewed with suspicion because of ideas on identity forming role of language.
why do Hamann and Herder have issue with language as representation?
They regard this rationalist view fails to appreciate how language is essential expression of what means to be human. All human symbolic forms eg music, art can be seen as language.
How did Herder anticipate analytic philososophy?
Says language gives human thought its limits and outline.
How does language undermine Kant?
Hamman’s suggestion that words are both pure and empirical intuitions and pure and empirical concepts. His questioning of Kant’s separation of receptitive initutitions and spontaneous concepts inaugurates GI.
How Hamamm view of langauge link to aims of GI.
GI wants to overcome oppositions between appearances and things in themsleves. Hamman says we can get words receptively as noises in obj world but to be something beyond noise have to have meaning that affects how we understand world. Next step might be to separate leanguage into those parts that have purely ojective significance and those parts which are subjective. But this has proved impossible. If language resists separation between subjective and objective then a philosophy that tries to show how subjective mind mirrors or represents objective world can be questioned. Claims about objectivity depend on language and langauge cannot be said to be either purely objective or subjective.
How do these ideas of language affect our understanding of truth?
Need not affect everyday understanding of truth but questions what it means to express truth ie saying something objective would require meta-perspective outside language. So truth might be notional goal. 20th century philosophy has conflicts between approaches that seek to limit truth to verifiable statements and approaches that make manifest an aspect of world. In the latter approach art can be vehicle when it reveals or makes sense of new perspective. This latter approach inherits much from what is initiated by Hamann and Herder.
What is the core of langauge for Hamann?
Literary aspect is not contingent addition but its core. Not definition of meaning of words but opening up of ever new persepctives.
How does this relate to Descartes?
Descartes saying only certainty of minds awareness of self and world of objects open to doubt not accepted by Hamann because assumes that knowledge of world based on rational justification is basis of philosophy. He thinks that belief happens as little in terms of reasons as tasting and smelling; our essential contact with world is sensuous. Not about sense data and contact with world like Locke but how we arrive at world that is intelligible. A critical account of reason like Kant doesn’t tell us how there is reason at all which is to do with origin of langaage
Do H and H answer question of why need reason to understand langauge and need langauge to have reason.
They try but not very well. Hamman uses theology as a way out by seeoing creation as language. Sees reason based purely on langauge which is not universal but based on tradition.
How does the emergence of hermeneutics come in here?
The idea that language mediates truths vital for emergence of hemeneutics. German philosophy’s critique of scientific accounts of langauge and idea that only warrantable truths are scientific ones. For Hamann scientifc understandings cannot arise without background pre-understandings. Understanding cannot be reduced to explanation because explanation always presupposes some prior understanding.
What does Herder have to say comapred to Hamann?
Doesnt share hamann theological concerns but does suggest key aspect of how we differentiatie linguistic from non-linguistic. Wer have capacity for reflection which allows to pick out characteristics of things in world. World not nameable objects but what things are determined by way in which other things made manifest in language and other human activity. What a sheep is depends on place in world of humans significances.
Why is Schleiermacher significant?
He systematises things. Sees subject like Kant as both receptive and spontaneous - but there is no real difference in these. Both involve self and world. Although we can direct our mental and physical activity we are not the source of our being active: this is given as part of our nature . Feeling that our activity connects to activity of rest of world leads to religion. Language too involves receptivity and spontaneity and entails dependence of subject which does not originate. Social nature of language involves sense of dependence on Other but also human interconnectedness that takes subject beyond self. he sees problems of interpretation based on tension between language as something pre-existing and as something through which humans express individuality. Resolving these impossible - can never have whole context of utterance so interpretation finite.
