维特根斯坦的意义观

Wittgenstein’s Views on Meaning

维特根斯坦在前后期发展出了截然不同的意义观,在语言学与语言哲学领域影响深远。他早期在《逻辑哲学论》中提出了意义图像说,将意义等同于观念、意向等抽象物。后期则竭力克服这种心理主义倾向,提出了意义使用论,以“用法”代替“意义”,放弃对意义本质的追求而在生活之流中突出语言的多样性与复杂性。从图像说到使用论,维特根斯坦意义观的发展,彰显了他对语言本质深邃精微的思考,为后来的意义研究打开了新局面。

Wittgenstein developed two distinct theories of meaning in his academic career, exerting lasting influence on linguistics and philosophy of language. The early Wittgenstein put forward the image theory, equating meaning with such abstract entities as ideas and image. The later Wittgenstein, however, set out to resist the psychologism reflected in his early thought. He put forward the use theory of meaning to replace "meaning" with "use", abandoned the pursuit of the "essence" of meaning, and highlighted the diversity and complexity of language in the stream of life. From the image theory to the use theory, the development of Wittgenstein’s views on meaning demonstrates his profound thinking on the nature of language and opened a new dimension to the study of meaning in decades to come.