“感受质”概念溯源

The Origin of Quale

感受质的问题因为其对理解意识本质的重要性而在心灵哲学中被热烈地讨论。然而,与对感受质问题关注的程度相比,哲学家们对"感受质"这个词本身历史的关注似乎不够。普遍认为"感受质"一词主要由刘易斯所引入,然而在刘易斯之前,该词已经出现在历史文献和哲学翻译文献中了,特别是在哲学家皮尔士的著作中。考察该词在早期哲学翻译文献,在皮尔士、刘易斯以及费格尔著作中的使用有助于弄清"感受质"一词的历史含义,对理解当今心灵哲学在这个问题上的争论也会有帮助。

The status of quale is lively discussed in the philosophy of mind because of its importance to the understanding of the nature of consciousness. However, compared with the great concerns for the question of quale, it seems that our philosophers do not pay close enough attention to the history of the word itself. It is widely believed that quale was primarily introduced by C. I. Lewis, but before him, this term had emerged in some historical literatures and philosophical translations, especially in the philosopher C. S. Peirce’s writings. Studying the use of it in the early philosophical translations, in the writings of Peirce, Lewis and Feigl will help us have a clear understanding of the term quale, and will also be very helpful for us to understand the debates on the question of quale.