Philosophy of Language, Chinese Language, Chinese Philosophy

The accumulated historical experience and rich cultural heritage of the pre-axial Chinese civilization are concentrated and reflected in the ancient Chinese language. Therefore, linguistic methods of studying traditional Chinese philosophy and its conceptual apparatus are becoming relevant in modern Sinology. By focusing on the material of ancient Chinese philosophical works, it is possible to reconstruct the conceptual apparatus of traditional Chinese philosophy and culture in general, and some of the classics in particular. Among the sets of fundamental terms, it is worth highlighting the compendiums by Chan Wing-tsit, Joseph Needham, A. I. Kobzev, Wu Yi and A. M. Karapetyants, which formed the basis of this study. The object of the study is the ontological-dynamic concepts, and its purpose is to develop a model of their linguocultural analysis demonstrated on the example of certain terms, first of all, 人 ren, 德 de and 道 dao. The statistical analysis of conceptions of the I Ching tradition, namely “The Appended Commentaries”, helps to construct a monocentric semantic field of ontological terms with a heterogeneous core. This model of linguocultural analysis proves to be universal for many philosophical concepts.

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Chinese Language, Chinese Philosophy, and “Truth”

The Journal of Asian Studies ◽

10.2307/2056264 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 491-519 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Chad Hansen

Keyword(s):

Philosophy Of Mind ◽

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Chinese Language ◽

Propositional Attitudes ◽

Philosophical Tradition ◽

Cognitive Content ◽

Know How ◽

Classical Chinese ◽

Theory Of Language ◽

Concept Of Truth

Pre-Han philosophical tradition did not address issues for which the concept of truth was central. Classical Chinese philosophy had virtually no metaphysical theory. The theory of language was mainly pragmatic. The semantic doctrines that were developed focused on terms rather than sentences or sententials. The Chinese theory of knowledge was primarily a theory of know-how and was not based on contrast between knowledge and belief. Chinese philosophy of mind treated heart-mind as a cluster of dispositional attitudes to make distinctions and to act upon, not as a repository of cognitive content about the world. Discussions of inference and semantic paradoxes used explicitly pragmatic terms rather than semantic ones. These differences can be partially explained by features of classical Chinese language in which compositional sentencehood is not important or syntactically obvious, and in which the counterparts of propositional attitudes take terms rather than sentences as objects.

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Representation in Early Chinese Philosophy of Language

Philosophy East and West ◽

10.1353/pew.2021.0004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 57-78

Author(s):

Chris Fraser

Keyword(s):

Philosophy Of Language ◽

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Early Chinese Philosophy

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Philosophical Studies on Wittgenstein in China

Wittgenstein-Studien ◽

10.1515/witt-2015-0110 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jiang Yi ◽

Zhang Xue-guang

Keyword(s):

Philosophy Of Language ◽

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Ordinary Language ◽

Western Philosophy ◽

Chinese Studies ◽

New Ideas ◽

Reading Interpretation

AbstractIt has been a century since Wittgenstein was introduced into China, and his philosophy has been in conflict with traditional Chinese philosophy and culture ever since. During this time, Wittgenstein’s philosophy has been the focus of considerable dialogue regarding Chinese and Western philosophies and has been responsible for introducing many new ideas into Chinese philosophy. There are three ways to study Wittgenstein’s philosophy in China: contextual reading, interpretation of thoughts and extended understanding. Chen Jiaying is one of the foremost scholars of the study of Wittgenstein in China. This scholar incorporates Wittgenstein’s methodology, especially in his later philosophy, to explain meanings of ordinary language. Wittgenstein’s philosophy introduces anti-essentialism into Chinese studies, a new way to interpret the philosophy of language, and his criticism of traditional Western philosophy. Taken together, these factors emphasise the significance of Wittgenstein’s philosophy to philosophical research in China.

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