The string doesn't necessitate this conclusion. In fact, there's a much better way.
More to come, hopefully.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Sacrifice of Language: Disassembly
And so the logic goes. If language unavoidably entangles with thought, then the outcomes of reasoning depend to some degree upon the language structures which facilitate reasoning. This is an old story, so I'm sure you know how it goes. I point out (along with Derrida) that language boasts no fundamental connection to the object signified. E.g., the link between the symbols (or sounds) "pond" and the soggy patch behind my house is arbitrary. From this observation the Derridean concludes that all of thought must also be arbitrary with respect to reality. We cannot derive facts about reality from our logic because our logic depends upon an arbitrary system, i.e., language.
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This comes out particularly well in translation. From French to English, or Greek to English, I have found phrases and words that connote, and sometimes denote things and actions I wouldn't think to express with English as my native tongue. There are some Greek constructions that can't be translated into English literally, and when I try and figure out what it means to give a rough translation, I don't understand how the words used together in that way create the thought the author is conveying.
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