命题何以表征世界

How and Why Propositions Represent the World

关于命题何以表征世界的理论有自然化命题和命题原初主义。自然化命题包括语言事实理论和认知行为类型理论,前者将命题的表征能力诉诸人对语言的解释,后者将命题的表征能力诉诸人对事物的述谓。两种自然化命题都面临难以克服的问题。命题原初主义认为命题是简单的、抽象的实体,其表征能力不能也不需要进行解释。该理论具有较大缺陷。承认命题是独立于语言和心灵的抽象实体,将其表征能力诉诸命题与事态之间的镜像关系,既对命题何以表征世界进行了解释,又避免了自然化命题和命题原初主义的理论困难和缺陷,具有较大的理论优势。

Naturalized theory of propositions and propositional primitivism are two approaches to explain how and why propositions represent the world.There are two main naturalized theories of propositions.One is the linguistic fact theory which explains the representation of propositions appealing to our interpretation of language,the other is the cognitive act type theory which explains the representation of propositions appealing to our predication of things.They both have lots of problems that cannot easy to solve.The propositional primitivists claims that propositions are simple abstract entities and their representative capacity cannot be explained with other things.This theory also has some serious problems.In this paper,I propose a new explaination of how and why propositions represent the world which is based on the mirror relation between propositions and state of affairs.I elaborate this account and argure that it can avoid or overcome the problems that naturalized theorists and propositional primitivists have.