认知语言学对西方哲学的贡献

The Contributions of Cognitive Linguistics to Western Philosophy

虽说西方哲学在各个时期都为主流语言学派提供了理论基础,但后者也常为前者做出了一定的贡献,如索绪尔和乔姆斯基就曾为西方哲学输送了新思路。已成为当代语言学主流的认知语言学派,一方面吸取了西方的体验哲学理论,另一方面也为体验哲学的建构起到了奠基性作用,同时也为西方哲学(特别是语言哲学和后现代哲学)提供了新理论、新观点、新方法,例如"隐喻认知论"、"图式范畴论"、"SOS理解模型"、"事件域认知模型(ECM)"、"识解观"、"概念整合论"、"认知过程"等,这些都大大充实了西方哲学的相关论述,在一定程度上推动了西方哲学的纵深发展,值得我们深入挖掘和认真思考。

Although Western Philosophy has long provided theoretical bases for linguistic schools at every stage,the latter has also made lots of contributions to the former.For instance,Saussure's Structuralist Linguistic Theory and Chomsky's Transformational Generative Grammar have offered many fresh ideas to Western Philosophy(including many other subjects).Cognitive Linguistics(CL),already being the mainstream in contemporary linguistics circles,has absorbed Embodied Philosophy on the one hand and also performed a fundamental role in the construction of Embodied Philosophy itself on the other hand.Meanwhile,CL has also supplied Western Philosophy(especially Philosophy of Language and Postmodernist Philosophy)with lots of theoretical nutrition,new ideas and methods,such as follows.1.Cognitive Theory of Metaphor has offered strong theoretical basis to the″irrationalism″of Post-modernism,with a focus on the fact that philosophical texts are also filled with metaphors,the″unreal utterance″being inevitable.It criticizes the mistakes of metaphysics with denunciation of metaphor,which helps to understand better why Lakoff and Johnson used the title″Metaphors We Live By″for their book in 1980.2.Schema Category Theory,based on the criticism of″the Classical Category Theory″and″the Prototype Category Theory″in Western philosophy,is more powerful in explaining the formation of category,concept and language,with more allowance of dynamic expressions.3.SOS Understanding Model by CL rethinks the shortages of one-way view(from object to subject,or from subject to object)and two-way view(interaction between subject and object;or intersubjectivity,i.e.interaction between subject and subject)in Western philosophy,thus proposing″Subject-Object-Subject″multiple interactionism as a new understanding model,which will cover more linguistic and philosophical issues.4.Event-domain Cognitive Model(ECM),criticizing the inadequacies of several present theoretical models,emphasizes the fact that people recognize the world,restore knowledge and organize language mainly by means of″Event.″ECM has more explanatory power for not only linguistic expressions but also philosophical discussions.5.Construal View raised by CL has made up the shortage to some extent of those philosophers,although they admit that people have subjective initiative,are lacking in theoretical frameworks to explain it.The five dimensions of″construal″put forward by cognitive linguist Langacker can be regarded as a gap-filling for the discussion of human subjectivity.6.Conceptual Blending Theory can be extended from language level to the origin of″human creativity,″thus making it more significant on the level of philosophy.While two input spaces are integrated into one blending space,there will surely be some new information emerging from the process,which can be used to explain how people invent or create new ideas and technologies.7.Analyzing Cognitive Process can reveal how″material determines thought,″which is the principle by materialism,but lacks in the explanation of its process.So,the analysis of cognition-formation process by CL can at least supply one of the approaches.The above-mentioned ideas and methods by CL have greatly enriched the statements concerned by Western philosophers with many new views and theories,which will obviously push forward the further development of Western philosophy to a certain degree.It is worthwhile for us to dig out deeply and think carefully.