Indian Philosophy of Language: Studies in Selected Issues (Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy, 46)

What can the philosophy of language learn from the classical Indian philosophical tradition? As recently as twenty or thirty years ago this question simply would not have arisen. If a practitioner of analytic philosophy of language of that time had any view of Indian philosophy at all, it was most likely to be the stereotyped picture of a gaggle of navel­ gazing mystics making vaguely Bradley-esque pronouncements on the oneness of the one that was one once. Much work has been done in the intervening years to overthrow that stereotype. Thanks to the efforts of such scholars as J. N. Mohanty, B. K. Matilal, and Karl Potter, philoso­ phers working in the analytic tradition have begun to discover something of the range and the rigor of classical Indian work in epistemolgy and metaphysics. Thus for instance, at least some recent discussions of personal identity reflect an awareness that the Indian Buddhist tradition might prove an important source of insights into the ramifications of a reductionist approach to personal identity. In philosophy of language, though, things have not improved all that much. While the old stereotype may no longer prevail among its practitioners, I suspect that they would not view classical Indian philoso­ phy as an important source of insights into issues in their field. Nor are they to be faulted for this.

this Book Examines Some Of The More Important Theories To Be Found In Classical Indian Philosophy That Bear Directly On Current Concerns In Philosophy Of Language. The Issues Discussed Are Three: The Problem Of Sentential Unity, The Sense-reference Distinction, And Our Talk About The Non-existent. In Each Case The Author Presents The Views Of Selected Indian Philosophers On The Issue -- Views That Differ In Significant Ways From Those That Are Usually Considered In Contemporary Debates In Philosophy Of Language.

the Intention Throughout Is To Add The Voices Of Classical Indian Theorists To These Contemporary Debates. Thus Indian Approaches To Such Issues As The Relation Of Word Meaning To Sentence Meaning And The Problem Of Negative Existentials Are Not Only Explicated But Also Assessed For Their Adequacy Relative To The Approaches Of Classical And Contemporary Analytic Philosophers Of Language.

no Background Knowledge Of Indian Philosophy Is Presupposed; The Book Should Thus Prove Of Interest To Specialists In Philosophy Of Language, Semantics, As Well As To Those Working In Indian And Comparative Philosophy.

This book examines some of the more important theories to be found in classical Indian philosophy that bear directly on current concerns in philosophy of language. The issues discussed are three: the problem of sentential unity, the sense-reference distinction, and our talk about the non-existent. In each case the author presents the views of selected Indian philosophers on the issue -- views that differ in significant ways from those that are usually considered in contemporary debates in philosophy of language.

The intention throughout is to add the voices of classical Indian theorists to these contemporary debates. Thus Indian approaches to such issues as the relation of word meaning to sentence meaning and the problem of negative existentials are not only explicated but also assessed for their adequacy relative to the approaches of classical and contemporary analytic philosophers of language.

No background knowledge of Indian philosophy is presupposed; the book should thus prove of interest to specialists in philosophy of language, semantics, as well as to those working in Indian and comparative philosophy. Front Matter....Pages i-1 Introduction....Pages 3-8 The Problem of Sentential Unity....Pages 9-64 The Sense-Reference Distinction....Pages 65-110 Talk About the Non-Existent....Pages 111-185 Back Matter....Pages 186-199