奎因暗藏有心灵理论吗?——兼论翻译不确定性的意义

Is There a Hidden Theory of Mind in Quine?

奎因有关翻译不确定性的理论或方法论背后,是一种关于语言的倾向理论。不同的语言乃是有关行动倾向性的不同系统,它们在运用那些指称词和描述词时得以实现,而指称、识别或描述不过是对于世界上不同事物的回应方式。奎因的这种理论是彻底经验性的,并没有把意义设定为命题或任何其他抽象实体,但它显然诉诸一种暗藏的心灵,只不过没有将其刻画为心灵,而是作为倾向。翻译不确定性表现了心灵(作为活性倾向)的创造性活动。这些活动完成了由一门语言到另一门语言的形式或倾向上的转换,它们是独特的行动和独特的实践,因此,不同的翻译表现着翻译者心中不同的独特行动和事件,任何两个翻译都难以被认为是相同的。正是这种作为能动倾向性的心灵理论,导致了有关翻译和解释的新型理论,而它同时也正是所谓"哲学诠释学"或"本体发生诠释学"所预设的基本观点。

A dispositional theory of language lies behind Quine's methodology of the indetermi-nation of translation. Different languages are different systems of dispositions of actions which are realized in the uses of a subset of referring terms and descriptions terms, whereas referring or identifying or describing are merely ways of responding to different things in the world. All these are thoroughly empirical and make no assumption of meanings as proposition or any other abstract entities. However, it is clear that in Quine's account of the indetermination he has appealed to a hidden mind which he would not describe as mind but as dispositions. The indeterminacies of translation represent the creative activities of the mind(as activated dispositions) which perform the transformation of forms or dispositions of one language into another language. They are unique actions and unique events, and therefore different translations represent different unique actions and events of a translator's mind, and therefore no two translations can be expected to be the same. This theory of mind as active disposition leads to a new theory of translation and interpretation which is presupposed in 'philosophical hermeneutics' or'onto-generative hermeneutics'.