Toward a Theory of Understanding

This chapter returns to the idea that understanding is a grasp of structure except that it argues that the grasp of propositional structure is a special case of understanding. Knowledge and true belief are therefore forms of understanding. Knowledge and the grasp of nonpropositional structures in the same domain are checks on the veridicality of each other and show that they are in touch with the same world. The chapter also argues that the grasp of repeating structures in different domains is an important skill that supports a strong form of argument by analogy and should be encouraged in educational settings.

Formy reprezentacji argumentu propozycjonalnego w bułgarskich, polskich i rosyjskich zdaniach ufundowanych na predykacie mentalnym

Forms of Representation of Propositional Argument in Bulgarian, Polish and Russian Expressions Based on the Mental PredicateThis article offers a discussion of Bulgarian, Polish and Russian mental verbs from the perspective of syntactic valence. The author examines grammatical forms of propositional argument in sentences with mental verbs which represent predicate-argument structure P (x, q). All syntactic forms in the focus of this study are classified into several patterns: observance, compression and splitting. The author demonstrates that what they involve is analogical reflection of propositional structure, greater or smaller compression of propositional argument, or its segmentation and doubling of syntactic position. The author examines the regularity of implementation of each grammatical form in Bulgarian, Polish and Russian on the basis of relevant quantitative data. Formy reprezentacji argumentu propozycjonalnego w bułgarskich, polskich i rosyjskich zdaniach ufundowanych na predykacie mentalnym Tematem prezentowanego artykułu są bułgarskie, polskie i rosyjskie czasowniki mentalne, badane w perspektywie walencji syntaktycznej. Autor analizuje gramatyczne formy realizacji argumentu propozycjonalnego w zdaniach z czasownikami mentalnymi w pozycji orzeczenia, które reprezentują strukturę predykatowo-argumentową P (x, q). Wszystkie formy syntaktyczne podzielono na kilka typów: przestrzeganie, kompresja i rozszczepienie. Autor pokazuje, że w tym zakresie mamy do czynienia z kalkowaniem struktury propozycjonalno-semantycznej, z mniej lub bardziej intensywną kompresją argumentu propozycjonalnego lub z jego rozczłonkowaniem i podwojeniem pozycji syntaktycznej. Została zbadana regularność realizacji każdej formy gramatycznej w systemie trzech języków. Wnioski są oparte na danych kwantytatywnych.

From shipwreck to constellation: Rethinking Meillassoux on Mallarmé from a semiotic perspective

This essay assesses Quentin Meillassoux’s numerological approach to Mallarmé’s problematic but formally innovative poem “Un Coup de dés,” using a semiotic methodology to reveal the deficiencies of that approach from the viewpoint of literary theory. Section 1 describes my expanded version of Michael Riffaterre’s semiotic theory of the structure of modern poetry. Poems are generated by two underlying propositions, each of which governs the structure of a set of symbolic images on the textual surface. These “matricial” propositions are linked by a syntagmatic relation. The primary text functions as subject-sign of the Peircean semiotic triad; its object-sign is an intertextual model. The interpretant of these two textual signs is assembled by the reader and has a sociolectic counterpart – or context – which has similar lexical content but contrasting internal structure. This contrast may produce a change in the preconceptions of the reader. Section 2 examines Meillassoux’s approach to Mallarmé’s poem, which is preoccupied with a “number” supposedly encrypted in the text. This is not convincingly related to the propositional structure of the poem. In Section 3, the text is interpreted using a semiotics-based methodology. The poem is generated by two matrices: one concerning the “Master” versus the storm, and the second concerning the power of Chance. The relation linking the matrices is clarified. This analysis is compared with that of Meillassoux throughout. Section 4 resumes the differences between Meillassoux’s concentration on the “number” and the “siren,” and my analysis which centres on the relation between the Master (symbolising traditional poets and their preferred metre) and the Constellation (symbolising the wide range of new future poetic metres and formats). Meillassoux’s approach turns out to be unconvincing.

Lekta in the Stoic Ontological Framework

This chapter examines the schematic map drawn up for the logical structure of the Stoic systēma. In it, rhetoric is distinguished from dialectic and, for the first time in the history of philosophy, signifiers are distinguished from things signified. As for lekta, they are distinguished from impressions, though both belong under the heading of things signified. The position of lekta is analysed both in the light of their being a kind of thing signified and as distinct from impressions. The latter are corporeal states of the soul, whereas lekta are incorporeal and stand in a relation to impressions which both guarantees the independence of lekta from them, and determines the nature of the impressions as rational. The literature on what makes impressions rational is discussed, including the case of the reasoning dog. The verdict is that there is no such animal on the specific Stoic understanding of reasoning. The distinction between a propositional content and a proposition is broached in the analysis of impressions, laying down the foundations for an analysis of rationality as the capacity to grasp a propositional structure, in which something is attributed to something on the basis of conceptions acquired through previous experience. This propositional structure is not invented by us but is what constitutes reality.

Walencja rosyjskich "verba sentiendi" w świetle składni eksplikacyjnej

Valency of Russian verba sentiendi in the light of explicative syntaxThe subject of this article are syntactic (distributional) properties of Russian sentimental verbs (denoting emotions, moods, affects, passions etc.) in a synchronistic view. 319 units of modern Russian language are studied using a theoretical model of explicative syntax, i.e., representation of the propositional structure at the level of grammaticalization of certain argument positions (defined in terms of grammatical classes). The author distinguishes some distributional patterns noted in the source material (explicative schemes), describing them with reference to the meaning of the lexical class as well as to their frequency (functionality). Walencja rosyjskich verba sentiendi w świetle składni eksplikacyjnejPrzedmiotem niniejszego artykułu są składniowe (dystrybucyjne) właściwości rosyjskich verba sentiendi (nazw uczuć, emocji, afektów, nastrojów i in.) w ujęciu synchronicznym. Przy zastosowaniu teoretycznego modelu składni eksplikacyjnej zbadano 319 jednostek współczesnego języka rosyjskiego. Autor przedstawia wyodrębnione w materiale źródłowym wzorce/modele dystrybucyjne (schematy eksplikacyjne) i opisuje je z uwzględnieniem znaczenia klasy leksykalnej, jak również ze względu na ich częstość reprezentacji (funkcjonalność).

Why the Content of Animal Thought Cannot Be Propositional

In “Steps toward Origins of Propositional Thought”, Burge claims that animals of different species are capable of making deductive inferences. According to Burge, that is why propositional thought is extended beyond the human mind to the minds of other kinds of creatures. But, as I argue here, the inferential capacities of animals do not guarantee a propositional structure. According to my argument, propositional content has predicates that might involve a quantificational structure. And the absence of this structure in animal thought might explain some of the differences with the propositional content of human thought.

Why Maps are Not Propositional

Many philosophers and logicians assume an exhaustive and exclusive dichotomy between “imagistic”, iconic, or pictorial representations and “discursive”, logical, or propositional ones. Maps seem to fall somewhere in between, with different theorists assimilating them to one or the other side of the divide. Given this assumption, philosophers and logicians interested in defending the logical tractability of maps have typically analyzed them as being predicative, where this is understood as a species of logical, propositional representation. This chapter argues that the best way to interpret the debate about propositionality is as concerning a representational system’s operative functional structure. Propositional structure is claimed to exhibit several distinctive properties: it is digital, asymmetrical, general, recursive, and hierarchical. However, there is little positive evidence that cartographic structure exhibits these features in the relevant sense.

Формы реализации пропозиционального аргумента в русских предложениях с ментальными глаголами: „соблюдение”, „компрессия”, „расщепление”

The subject of the article is the mental verbs (verbs of knowledge, understanding and thinking) of the modern Russian language, treated in terms of syntactic valence. The author examines the grammatical forms of the realization of propositional argument in sentences with mental verbs with the predicate-argument structure P (x, q). The forms of representation of propositional argument are divided into three types: observance, compression and splitting. The author shows that in this area we have to deal with an analog reflection of the propositional structure, or more or less a compression of proposition argument, or its dismemberment and doubling of its syntactic position. The author takes into account the regularity of the implementation of each grammatical form, quoting the relevant quantitative data.

Struktura predykatowo-argumentowa jako narzędzie analizy tekstu: pro et contra

The predicate-argument structure as a tool for text analysis: pro et contraThe aim of the present paper is to take part in the discussion about semantic syntax, also known as predicate-argument syntax on account of its key concepts. The article deals with the problem of the limited effectiveness of the model caused by the lack of an objective method of distinguishing arguments from adjuncts, which is crucial to defining the scope of propositional structure under analysis. The final conclusion is that the theory of predicative-argument structure needs to be reexamined in the light of the results of text corpora analysis that is more reliable than artificially prepared linguistic data. Struktura predykatowo-argumentowa jako narzędzie analizy tekstu: pro et contraCelem prezentowanego artykułu jest wzięcie udziału w dyskusji na temat składni semantycznej, określanej też jako składnia predykatowo-argumentowa ze względu na kluczowe pojęcia, którymi operuje. Rozważania koncentrują się na problemie ograniczonej efektywności modelu, spowodowanej brakiem obiektywnej procedury rozróżniania argumentów od adiunktów, co stanowi podstawę określenia granic poddawanej analizie struktury propozycjonalnej. Wnioski końcowe sprowadzają się do postulatu przetestowania możliwości metodologicznych modelu na szeroko zakrojonej analizie korpusów tekstów.