PLATO'S THEORY OF LANGUAGE: THE ISOMORPHISM OF KOSMOS AND LOGOS IN THE TIMAEUS.
The paper considers Plato's theory of language through the prism of the Timaeus' metaphysics. It is argued that the apparent contradictions of Plato's philosophy of language are the consequence of the two-fold nature of language, and that the metaphysical scheme proposed by Plato in the Timaeus can...
| Publicado en: | Problems / Problemos Vol. 91; pp. 128 - 141 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Vilnius University
2017
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | The paper considers Plato's theory of language through the prism of the Timaeus' metaphysics. It is argued that the apparent contradictions of Plato's philosophy of language are the consequence of the two-fold nature of language, and that the metaphysical scheme proposed by Plato in the Timaeus can shed a light on his coherent theory of language. The linguo-metaphysical isomorphism of the Timaeus presupposes that (1) words and material elements have their own meaning and nature respectively; (2) they can be reduced to an infinite variety of amorphic sounds and receptacle; (3) the participation in truth is possible only at the level of narrative and universe. According to this scheme the universe (κόσμος), as well as any speech (λόγος), can be explained by the reduction to its constituent elements, but it will be only necessary explanation. Whereas for Plato, the true understanding of cosmos and logos is possible only on the level of the coherent unity of the whole, which represents the ideal paradigm in the best possible way. Straipsnyje per Timajaus metafizikos prizmę aptariama Platono kalbos teorija. Teigiama, kad Platono kalbos filosofijos tariamas prieštaringumas kyla iš dvilypės kalbos prigimties ir kad Platono Timajuje pasiūlyta metafizinė schema gali nuskaidrinti jo nuoseklią kalbos teoriją. Timajo kalbos ir metafizikos izomorfizmas numato, kad (1) žodžiai ir materialieji elementai atitinkamai turi savo reikšmę ir prigimtį; (2) jie gali būti redukuoti į begalinę amorfinių garsų įvairovę; (3) dalyvavimas tiesoje įmanomas tik pasakojimo ir visatos lygmeniu. Pagal šią schemą, visata (κόσμος), kaip ir bet kuri kalba (λόγος), gali būti paaiškinta per redukciją į sudarančius elementus, tačiau tai tebus būtinas aiškinimas. Platonui tikrasis kosmo ir logo supratimas įmanomas tik koherentiško visumos vienumo lygmeniu, geriausiai reprezentuojančiu idealią paradigmą. |
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