Page 148 - Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Language

Truth and Meaning
cognition is a single entity, but since it may be complex, it is analyzed in terms of recursively applied expressions of the form X which is qualified by Y,' that is 'X which is qualified by (Y which is qualified by Z . . . ) , ' etc. This analysis in terms of nominal expressions conflicts with the grammarians' analysis that presents a sentence as a verbal form withnominal (and other) adjuncts. The meaning cognition of Hari sees a bird, for example, is analyzed by the logicians as: 'the operation generating the activity of seeing which has a bird as object is qualified by Hari as its doer.' Such an analysis is not merely 'artificial'; it is an expression of an artificial language which is well formed in accordance with the principles of its con- struction. Attempts at formalization have accordingly been made, by Matilal and others (see Matilal 1968; 1988; Staal 1988:249-55).
Bibliography
Even confined to publications in English, the literature on Indian theories of meaning is extensive. The present article is based on various sources referred to, along with many others, in Staal (1988). The most useful general introduction remains Kunjunni Raja (1963).
Bhattacharya B 1962 A Study in Language and Meaning: A Critical Examination of Some Aspects of Indian Semantics. University of Calcutta, Calcutta
Brereton J P 1986 'Tat Tvam Asi' in Context. Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft 136:98-109
Bronkhorst J 1981 Meaning entries in Panini's Dhatupatha. Journal of Indian Philosophy 9:335-57
Brough J 1951 Theories of general linguistics in the Sanskrit grammarians. TPhS 27-46
Cardona G 1975 Paraphrase and sentence analysis: Some Indian views. Journal of Indian Philosophy 3:259-81
Deshpande M M 1991 Prototypes in Paninian syntax. JAOS 111:465-80
Houben J E M 1992 Bhartrhari's Somoya/Helaraja's Samketa. Journal of Indian Philosophy 20:219-42
Ingalls D H H, Masson J M, Patwardhan M V (trans.) 1989 The Dhvanyaloka of Anandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Kiparsky P, Staal F 1969 Syntactic and semantic relations in Panini. Foundations of Language 5:83-117
Kunjunni Raja K. 1963 Indian Theories of Meaning. The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Adyar, Madras
Matilal B K 1968 The Navyanyaya Doctrine of Negation. The Semantics and Ontology of Negative Statements in Navya- nyaya Philosophy. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Matilal B K 1988 Sabdabodha and the problem of knowl- edge-representation in Sanskrit. Journal of Indian Phil- osophy 16:107-22
Ruegg D S 1985 Purport, implicature and presupposition: Sanskrit abhipraya and Tibetan dgons pajdgons gfi as hermeneutical concepts. Journal of Indian Philosophy 13:309-25
Ruegg D S 1988 An Indian source for the Tibetan her- meneutical term dgons gii 'intentional ground.' Journal of Indian Philosophy 16:1-4
Sideritis M 1985 Word meaning, sentence meaning and apoha. Journal of Indian Philosophy 13:133-51
Staal F 1988 Universal: Studies in Indian Logic and Linguis- tics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL
Tabler J A 1989 The theory of the sentence in PQrva MlmamsQ and Western philosophy. Journal of Indian Phil- osophy 17:407-30
Tarkatirtha Pandit V 1992 The Nyaya on the meaning of some words. Journal of Indian Philosophy 20:41-88
Tola F, Dragonetti C 1990 Some remarks on Bhartrhari's concept ofpratibha. Journal of Indian Philosophy 18:95- 112
'If I had to say what is the main mistake made by philosophers of the present generation...,' remarked Wittgenstein, 'I would say that it is when language is looked at, what is looked at is a form of words and not the use made of the form of words' (1966: 2). The idea of a language game, which is central to Wittgen- stein's later conception of philosophy, is expressly designed to combat this mistake. The core notion of a language game, which can be found throughout his later work, consists of examples of simple language use, together with enough background information about the speakers and context to render the purposes
of the utterances intelligible. The context can either be natural or invented, and the overall aim is to shed philosophical light on the concepts and issues involved.
1. What a Language Game Is
Although the phrase 'language game' is used in the Philosophical Grammar (PG), the concept makes its first mature appearance in The Blue Book (Bl.B) dic- tated to pupils in 1933-34:
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Language Game M. W. Howe