Ideas and Ideals

The article considers the semantics of proper names in the context of analytical philosophy. The author classifies and analyzes the existing approaches to the issue of proper names reference (the descriptive theory of reference and the direct reference theory) and also reveals the points of their mutual intersection. After briefly defining the main theses of descriptive theory, the author proposes to distinguish its strong version from the weak one. According to the strong version, presented primarily by the works of G. Frege and B. Russell, the name, in fact, is a disguised description (or conjunction of descriptions), while, according to the weak version, dating back to the works of J. Searle, a name is associated with a complex disjunction of descriptions. In both the first and second cases, it is the descriptions that specify the denotation of the name; in other words, the name indicates the object only indirectly. However, this approach, at least, does not take into account the possibility of naming an object using a ‘false’ description, that is, a description that specifies the characteristic(s) to which the object does not correspond. The semantics of proper names is interpreted in a fundamentally different way in direct reference theory, according to which names are labels for objects. The reference of the name in this case is determined either with the help of a causal chain of communication (S. Kripke), or with the help of a historical explanation of the relationship between the one who uses the name and the singular object that is designated by that name (K. Donnellan). The name itself is understood as a rigid designator, directly and strictly pointing to the same object in any factual or counterfactual situation. This approach allows us to show how, for example, it is possible to use an incorrect description to refer to a certain subject. The comparative study of these theories made it possible to discover the presence of causal aspects in the descriptive theory of reference and the significance of descriptive characteristics in the direct reference theory, and thereby more accurately describe the semantics of proper names.

This paper considers the Kantian philosophical tradition in western language philosophy of the XXth century, describes the ways of its influence and argues the existence of the “Kantian language philosophy tradition” as a continuous stage to be a certain evolutionary line in the history of philosophy. By now one ignores the influence of Kantian philosophy upon “those not pee linguistic turn” and does not esteem I. Kant as a philosopher of language, nor counts his influence in this sphere. The mode of this influence is uncertain and represents various views from synthesis to direct evolution. To discover this issue the author of this paper tries to find a metaphysic core element in language ontology, inherited by the analytic philosophers from I. Kant’s writings; conducts a comparative research of the aforementioned authors’ papers, extracts derived from I. Kant core metaphysical aspect in language ontology and a textological analysis, historical reconstruction. The researchers ignore historical and ontological links between language philosophy, Kantian and the analytical tradition due to a philological development of academic linguistics in the late XIXth – XXth centuries. Following the Kantian tradition in philosophy theories of the analytic philosophers (particularly W. Qwine and P. Strawson) contain the metaphysical core in language ontology, primarily in its syncretic essence of logical, semantic and utterly linguistic categories (i. e. the scheme of concepts, sense, universals, etc.). Syncretism of logical and linguistic essence in terms is also typical for the Kantian philosophy and characterizes the Kantian philosophy to be a source for the linguistic one, and a fully expressed the “Kantian language philosophy tradition”.

The article explores the interrelation between the cryptotypic meaning and frequency in the English language using an example of broad contexts from the English-language press dedicated to artificial intelligence. The author studies interrelation of classical rules, the foundations of speech and new trends in speech which arise under the influence of changes in our society. The author examines the problem on the basis of the analysis of the British and American press, taking into account both current publications and those published ten years ago. In the course of the research, the author draws attention to the connection between cryptotypes and frequency using the example of publications on artificial intelligence, which has become quite characteristic of the modern society. As a result of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the existing rules of speech do not contradict new phenomena, but, on the contrary, they form the basis for creating new words and sentences which can satisfy the needs of the modern language. It means that violation of the classical canons, when constructing sentences using new words or when narrating about something new, is not a linguistic mistake, but it shows the evolution of a language which is forced to adapt to modern requirements. The analysis of the frequency occurring in the course of use of the spatial relations cryptotype, expressed with the help of demonstrative pronouns this / these-that / those, indicates the predominant expression of the idea of proximity in English in similar constructions. The author of the article notes that a speaker or a writer subconsciously constructs sentences using the pronouns which seem appropriate to him in this particular situation. The idea of cryptotypes can be traced here, since the speaker demonstrates his attitude to artificial intelligence, as to something remote, despite the fact that in the spatial sense, the object is in close proximity to him. The relevance of this study is supported by the fact that, today, the English language is constantly being supplemented by new words, terms, concepts and language constructs. Because of this, the classical foundations and rules are gradually changing, that indicates a close connection of the language with its speakers.

The article deals with the phenomenon of multilingualism and its most common case – bilingualism – from both the linguistics and philosophical points of view. More than a half of the global population at present are multilingual, i.e. they use two or more languages in their daily lives. The related changes in culture and ways of thinking require scientific research and philosophic reflection. The article briefly covers approaches applied by researchers of language and language ability to defining the nature of bilingualism.  Linguists and psychologists choose different criteria in order to determine the level of language fluency that allows to characterize someone as bilingual. Some scientists believe that even a minimum competence in listening, speaking, reading, or writing means that an individual is bilingual, while others consider a native-like fluency in two languages to be a necessary condition.  Using as a basis mainly the ideas of the 20th century’s analytic philosophers, the author attempts to offer a philosophical explanation to the mechanism that enables bilinguals to switch between their languages. The key philosophic idea that helps to explain the phenomenon is the concept of a language as a means of expressing thoughts and the only possible form for the existence of thoughts. The main language structure in which a thought can be expressed is a sentence, because it allows to establish relations between any objects of the world. The main criterion of bilingualism is not the ability to speak another language, but the ability to think in that language, whereas the criterion of the ability to think in a language is a skill to build sentences in that language.

The article analyzes a number of stages of the formation of a generic and non-specific vocabulary in the period from 9-8 to 5-4 centuries BC in Ancient Greece. Cosmogonies of the period of ordering mythological representations in Egyptian, Phoenician and Greek cultures are taken as a source material. The article considers the interaction of basic metaphors that allow this ordering to be carried out-metaphors of genealogical (birth and change of generations) and metaphors of artisan-demiurge. The formation of the legislative space is investigated, yet namely this space allows to outline the first reflective steps in relation to mythological thinking. These steps are initially carried out within the limits of traditional mythological images. The most important stage of the movement towards general words in the process of the emergence of artificial concepts in the early philosophical systems – "apeiron", "ontos", "logos", "physis", which begin to be ordered through interaction with each other. In parallel with the personified mythological concepts the abstract concepts are gradually lining up and organizing systematically. From a beginning  they allow to integrate mythological ideas and present them in the abstract form. In the next phase, a fundamental role is played by the activity of sophists, whose attention is focused on the game with the general concepts, yet the content of these concepts starts to lose the reference to the outside world. At the same time, the language is discovered as an independent system. This is the content of the third stage of reflective activity. The attempt of Socrates to escape from sophistic relativism and return the contents to the general concepts leads to the overturning of the relations of names and reality, when it turns out that the general concepts are enclosed in the soul, and they are preset the understanding of the world. Plato and Aristotle are implementing this setting and transform this work with concepts into a separate sphere of activity, creating dialectics and logic that underlie the methodology of reasoning and research in different spheres of intellectual activity.

The article analyses the philosophical ideas of L. Wittgenstein connected with understanding the language as the principle for the world reflection. Considering his “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” devoted to identification of the logical analysis specifics, the authors note that according to L. Wittgenstein silence becomes the highest form of manifestation of the language reflection of the world. Considering the language in the aspect of expressing the inexpressible, the scholar comes to the “meta-philosophical” perspective connected with creating a new ontology of the world which is ideally designed to provide “the right understanding of the world”. In his later work “Philosophical Investigations” L. Wittgenstein considers the practical content of the world language reflection regarding life as it is. Thus, the author comes to the conclusion about the language games existence, practical implementation of which provides the discovery of a great number of meanings, and their connections are not always obvious. Such diversity of language games resists any structural analysis. L. Wittgenstein perceives them as the activity components or the forms of life, no less diverse, than life experience. Therefore, the language reflection of the world, according to L. Wittgenstein, demands establishing the real life connections. The scholar tries to solve this task, analyzing the functional and game characteristic of a language. Trying to establish original connection between the language and the world in their existential contents, the author aims to reach the principles of clear thinking, free from different language illusions

The article analyzes the concept of antirealism in the framework of philosophy of L. Wittgenstein and H. Goodman. Based antirealists concept - the idea that the research object is based on the multiple interpretations of its values. The paper argues that this direction gives the person a greater degree of freedom for interpretation and understanding of the object. In the second stage of his work of L. Wittgenstein introduced the concept antirealists through «language games». «Language game» is characterized by the idea of meaning as use according to the time and place of the events. The concept of the thinker, the concept of «game» is impossible to define and therefore set its rules are possible within the process. The main thesis of «Philosophical research» is that the formation of the meaning of the word is really only in the case of individual interpretation and understanding of each subject. Language comprehension seems to be a philosopher by interpreting and using every subject words, expressions and sentences.

N. Goodman in work «Ways of creating the worlds» analyses the specifics of the language, based on its formation and change in science, artistic creativity, noting that true knowledge is formed and changed depending on the system in which it exists and asserts the relativity of truth. It is the recognition of the multiplicity of worlds and of interpretations of the truth gives a person the chance to see an interesting problem. Interpretation and understanding of language in the philosophy of N. Goodman is based on the representation and formation of true knowledge, they characterize the system, which correspond. Also the truth value is expressed through its correspondence to its subject matter. In this case, the concept of correctness only exists in relation to any particular system.

Thus, antirealists the concept of interpretation and understanding of values is based on the ideas of language use and depend on the level of knowledge of the situation and criteria that represents each subject