Jaina Philosophy of Language

SR No.: 001601
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 2006
Total Pages: 168
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Language
File Size: 10 MB

Page 28

(2)
Jaina Philosophy of Language
communicate its feelings with such clarity as man can through his wordoriented language. Experience concerning taste for example, cannot be expressed through body or sound-signals with such a clarity. No doubt, language or expression through word symbols is also imperfect, partial and symbolic. Nevertheless, there is no other better medium of expression yet devised.
Language & Philosophy of Language
We have devised a few word-symbols for persons, things, facts, events, actions and feelings and our language is nothing but a well-planned game of these very word-symbols. In short, we have given names to the various things, and it is through these names that we communicate our feelings, thoughts and knowledge of facts to others. We, for example indicate by the word 'chair' a specific article or by the word 'love', a particular feeling. Besides, we have also devised word-symbols for persons, things, qualities, facts, events, activities, and feelings and for their various kinds of relations and for the absence of such relations also. The structure of any language is based on the warp and roof of these very meaningful word-symbols. The language is a structure of well-arranged word symbols, which communicates the knowledge or the feelings of the speaker. There are two branches of knowledge concerning the nature of language (i) linguistics and (ii) philosophy of language and their subject of study is also language. It is also correct that both of them do not study any particular language, they study the general features of language itself. Even then the respective viewpoints and the fundamental problems of these two branches are different. While linguistics is mainly concerned with the structure of language and the development of languages and scripts, philosophy of language deals with the power of expression of language, the relation of word and its expressions and the validity of statements. Linguistics and philosophy of language are thus different from each other. Philosophy of language critically analyses the philosophical problems of language while linguistics is mainly concerned with the structure and nature of language.
Development of philosophy of language in Western thought
Linguistic-analysis is the chief methodology of philosophy in the modern times. If we study the development of Western philosophy,