我们缘何“不知道”——论“言语失效”的成因

On Reasons of the Failures of Words

本文所谓"不知道",乃"言语失效",其源于"知"与"道"的不对称。"不知道"可理解为"不知如何说"或"不知天地之大道",故对其研究宜采用语言学与哲学双重进路。基于此,本文探索了"不知道"的三种形式("说不出"、"说不尽"、"说不得")之成因,归纳为七条:语言具有"自反性",语、默互为背景,言说带有视角,逻辑形式无法自指,私人经验与公共经验不对称,形而上世界超越于现实世界,逻辑铁律不可破。

The failures of words stem from the asymmetry of knowing and saying, which can be categorized into three forms ： unspeakability, inexhaustibility and unreportability. In Chinese, we call the failures of words ＂bu zhi dao＂. As ＂dao＂ means both saying and the highest metaphysical being in Chinese, ＂bu zhi dao＂ （ literally translated as ＂not know saying＂ or ＂not know the dao＂ ） has both linguistic and philosophical dimensions. Setting out from both dimensions, we conclude the reasons of the three forms of the failures of words as the following seven points ： 1 ） Human language is self-reflective ; 2 ） Word and si- lence rely on each other as background; 3） Speaking contains a visual angle; 4） Language can never refer to its own logical form; 5 ） There is always a gap between private and public experiences; 6） Language as a mirror-image of the reality doesn＇ t work in the metaphysical world; 7） Language is fettered by the unbreakable law of logic.