What a wonderful overview, Neil! I envy your capacity to cook down the huge amount of controversy involving epistemology, sociology, ideology, modernism and post-modernism into a few comprehensible paragraphs.
Personally, I find myself suspended between the kind of modernism proposed by Habermas and the various post-modernist critiques of it. Not always an easy (or consistent) position, I'm trying to figure out a way to construct a hammock on the basis of this suspension which allows me to comfortably swing from one to the other as I please. And didn't someone once comment that consistency is the privilege of small minds? If critical theory has established anything, it's that the old metaphysical arguments about ontology and "das Ding in sich" are just a waste of time. We can't ultimately get out of our skins; our knowledge is *human *knowledge, worked out and communicated in *human *terms, and as such it will always have a cultural and societal framework. Such frameworks are dynamic, interacting with each other, growing, changing ... organic really - which is no wonder, given that humans are organic beings. "Pure" rationality is a chimera, because as humans we can only think in human categories. Should we ever encounter aliens, I suspect that the intercommunication would be difficult, frustrating and endlessly fascinating, because they might very well structure their thinking according to other categories (that's why they can travel faster than light, by the way, their way of doing logic doesn't see the problem of *e=mc2 – *they just take the interdimensional back-way through their granny’s garden. That is if we don’t kill them first, or they run away from us in horror to call the inter-stellar exterminators to come and deal with us because we’re not fit to be let loose on civilized galactic society). And, of course, one of the major – perhaps *the *major characteristic of the inevitable human context of our knowledge is language. Habermas is wonderfully attractive in his appeal for reasonable and reasoned discourse on societal issues - this conviction that it is possible through dialogue and mutual understanding to reach conclusions which will actually make things better. In the end, of course, he's a good old-fashioned bourgeois liberal who believes in "progress". The problem with him is that he is convinced that his position (and the post-WWII western German society in which he lived in, and which he has worked on forming all his adult life) is the *superior *position (as I said before - typical German philosopher). I become ever more suspicious of people who *know *that they're right - and that everyone else is consequently less right - or to put it more bluntly, *wrong.* This is where the post-modernists gleefully point their fingers at him. Denying others absolute truth, he implicitly and pragmatically claims it for himself. (It’s also why he can’t stand them!) On the other hand, the various post-modernist *turns *run the risk (and are repeatedly accused) of falling into complete *laissez-faire *multi-culti, anything-goes relativism. If our truth-values – to which our moral values belong – are societally, historically and culturally conditioned, what right do I have to claim my moral values are better than yours? Weren’t the niggers better off as slaves on the plantation, being looked after by a kind and paternalistic massa, than being condemned to living a constant life of danger, deprivation, drugs and depression in some run-down project in contemporary decrepit Detroit? Or let’s not even bother with spurious justifications, let’s go all the way to social Darwinism; the strong do as they will, and the weak suffer as they must. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. So, at the moment, this is where I find myself intellectually at the moment, gently swinging in my hammock between these two positions. Descartes may have found his answer to doubt in his own affirmation of his self-cognitive rationality (though Dan Dennett <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness_Explained> believes he can define this out of existence), but it’s still a big step to the conviction of the ultimate *rightness *of the particular positions one espouses. Maybe the recognition of the conditionality of our own premises, and the openness to the possibility of their correctibility – while not automatically offering them up as being completely conjectural and relative - is the real prerequisite for meaningful discourse. Or as Oliver Cromwell (normally not someone over-inclined to questioning his own righteousness) once asked the Assembly of the Church of Scotland, “I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken!” Of course, that still leaves the question open; how can you even begin to discuss with people who *know *they’re right? Am Samstag, 7. März 2015 12:54:02 UTC+1 schrieb archytas: > > Good to see you too Don. I'm not much into the nuances of translation > stuff, partly because I lack Gabby's skills and Francis' patience. There > are many versions of Chris' 'make the language simple enough for > translation' angle - one here is called the 'Crystal Method' and is taught > to our bullshit bureaucrats, so they can confuse us with smaller words. We > scientists got the 'Fog Index', screwed as soon as you use an equation or > start talking about attribution tests and extreme value analysis. > > I see another kind of 'translation'. Habermas is actually quite easy > compared with other Germans like Gunter Ludwig on how scientific theories > come about. Russell and Whitehead wrote three volumes on why one and one > make two and, eventually, were wrong. Things get relative when we try to > ground stuff in origin (I was told to remove the word 'stuff' from my > thesis as it was too common a word). I translate this complex social stuff > into a long line of philosophical effort. > > There is no 'start' or 'origin'. If I mention the pre-Socratics and > the pyrrhonists, I know they were much influenced from Persia and India. > They at least knew argument can nearly always be made in several different > ways that are very difficult to choose between. One gets a line from this > stuff to Descartes and that 'I am thinking therefore I am' stuff - I'm more > of an I woke up and am still here bloke. Socrates and Bacon more or less > said public opinion ain't worth shit and Descartes continued this in > radical doubt, supposedly grounded on not being able to deny one's own > presence. Actually, there being thoughts does not imply a thinker, and if > you doubt everything you are, in fact, doubting nothing and have made doubt > into something that can't ground itself. Wittgenstein eventually says we > have been arguing over the same terrain for centuries, not resolved > anything and thus must be bewitched by the language we are using. So we > should know more about language. > > This turns into what we now call social epistemology, away from the > individual introspective sole thinker to something more social. Marx is a > classic example and the discipline of sociology. One can split this in > many ways, though the standard differences are as follows: > " The classical approach could be realized in at least two forms. One > would emphasize the traditional epistemic goal of acquiring true beliefs. > It would study social practices in terms of their impact on the > truth-values of agents' beliefs. A second version of the classical approach > would focus on the epistemic goal of having justified or rational beliefs. > Applied to the social realm, it might concentrate, for example, on when a > cognitive agent is justified or warranted in accepting the statements and > opinions of others. Proponents of the anti-classical approach have little > or no use for concepts like truth and justification. In addressing the > social dimensions of knowledge, they understand "knowledge" as simply what > is believed, or what beliefs are "institutionalized" in this or that > community, culture, or context. They seek to identify the social forces and > influences responsible for knowledge production so conceived. Social > epistemology is theoretically significant because of the central role of > society in the knowledge-forming process. It also has practical importance > because of its possible role in the redesign of information-related social > institutions." > > Karl Marx's theory of ideology could well be considered a type of social > epistemology. On one interpretation of Marx's conception of "ideology", an > ideology is a set of beliefs, a world-view, or a form of consciousness that > is in some fashion false or delusive. The cause of these beliefs, and > perhaps of their delusiveness, is the social situation and interests of the > believers. Since the theory of ideology, so described, is concerned with > the truth and falsity of beliefs, it might even be considered a form of > classical social epistemology. > Karl Mannheim (1936) extended Marx's theory of ideology into a sociology > of knowledge. He classed forms of consciousness as ideological when the > thoughts of a social group can be traced to the group's social situation or > "life conditions". Critical theory aims at emancipation and enlightenment > by making agents aware of hidden coercion in their environment, enabling > them to determine where their true interests lie. Beliefs that agents would > agree upon in the ideal speech situation are ipso facto true beliefs > (Habermas and Luhmann 1971: 139, 224). Here a social communicational device > is treated as a type of epistemic standard. > Habermas, Jurgen and Luhmann, Niklas (1971), Theorie der Gesellschaft oder > Sozialtechnologie – Was Leistet die Systemforschung? Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. > > I could easily extend this to a book so tedious that Francis would be > smashing windows rather than cleaning them. I have read loads of this > stuff, only to conclude the mechanisms involved more or less avoid the > human condition. In the 1930s, Ludwik Fleck (1896–1961), a Polish-Jewish > microbiologist, developed the first system of the historical philosophy and > sociology of science. Fleck claimed that cognition is a collective > activity, since it is only possible on the basis of a certain body of > knowledge acquired from other people. When people begin to exchange ideas, > a thought collective arises, bonded by a specific mood, and as a result of > a series of understandings and misunderstandings a peculiar thought style > is developed. When a thought style becomes sufficiently sophisticated, the > collective divides itself into an esoteric circle (professionals) and an > exoteric circle (laymen). A thought style consists of the active elements, > which shape ways in which members of the collective see and think about the > world, and of the passive elements, the sum of which is perceived as an > “objective reality”. What we call “facts”, are social constructs: only what > is true to culture is true to nature. Thought styles are often > incommensurable: what is a fact to the members of a thought collective A > sometimes does not exist to the members of a thought collective B, and a > thought that is significant and true to the members of A may sometimes be > false or meaningless for members of B. > > The story goes on and on. Most people get more or less no chance to learn > any of it. Fleck's ideas in brief are in“Crisis in Science. Towards a Free > and More Human Science”, in R. S. Cohen and Th. Schnelle (eds.), 1986, pp. > 153–158. > > One of the big questions is how we can translate much of this into > something that translates to quick understanding and doesn't lead to a > bunch of Guardians replacing current control as in Soviet Paradise or > neo-liberalism under the US military umbrella. > > > On Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 7:06:31 AM UTC, Don Johnson wrote: >> >> Very much enjoying the commentary. Gabby, I have read that the divide >> between what is classical-liberalism and modern-liberalism in the States >> began during FDR's administration. Campiagn speeches by Hoover and >> Roosevelt were both peppered with classical-liberal rhetoric. Indeed, there >> was some competition to see who would be the most fiscally conservative. >> FDR won. Then came the New Deal and unprecedented goverment spending and >> involvement in everyday life. Thus changing the public's view on what >> "liberalism" was all about. Now we have a neoclassical liberalism called >> Libertarianism. It will be interesting to see how this will be perverted in >> the decades to come as no doubt it will be if we ever get a President >> elected on this ticket. >> >> Nice to see the old crew at it again. >> >> dj >> >> >> On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 7:03 PM, frantheman <[email protected] >> <javascript:>> wrote: >> >>> Habermas is fine with "herrschaftsfreier Diskurs" as long as he has the >>> "Herrschaft"! :-) >>> >>> I came at Habermas sideways this semester; I was doing pretty intensive >>> work on the historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler >>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Ulrich_Wehler>, in particular his >>> monumental five-volume *Deutsche Sozialgeschichte 1770-1989*, and you >>> can't work on Wehler without having to look at Habermas. The two of them >>> met as kids in the Hitler-Jugend in Gummersbach, where Habermas was >>> Wehler's *Gruppenführer*, and remained friends and close associates all >>> their lives - coming to each other's defence in many of those vicious >>> intellectual fights German academics are so fond of (e.g. the Sonderweg >>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderweg> discussion, or the >>> Historikerstreit <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historikerstreit>). >>> >>> Both Habermas and Wehler are proponents of what is called in German the >>> *bürgerliche >>> Gesellschaft*. To come back to a major theme of this thread, this is a >>> term which it is very difficult to accurately translate into English >>> without losing much of its meaning in German and adding things in English >>> which are not there in German. There is, in fact, no real English word for >>> *bürgerlich*; conventionally the French term *bourgeois *is used. But >>> *bourgeois >>> *has many negative connotations in English (particularly since the 60s, >>> when it was almost exclusively used in a pejorative Marxist sense) - >>> *bürgerlich >>> *is used in German in a much more varied, and often matter-of-fact >>> fashion. "Middle class" could also be used, but that's a term that can also >>> be problematic. "Civil society" also captures some of its meaning in a more >>> neutral sense. When I use the term "liberal democracy," or "western >>> liberalism" in English, I think the German translation for what I am trying >>> to describe is *bürgerliche Gesellschaft*. And when I speak of "New >>> Deal, social-democratic, open, liberal (in the true sense) democracy," it's >>> basically an attempt to describe what German much more concisely calls >>> *soziale >>> Marktwirtschaft*. >>> >>> Translation is difficult, because languages both define and are defined >>> by culture. What's the German for leadership? *Führung. *So what's the >>> German for leader? *Führer. *But because of German history, there are >>> major difficulties with using that word, particularly in a German context. >>> In English there's no problem with calling Angela Merkel the "German >>> leader." But *deutsche Führer *or *Führerin? *Good luck with that >>> one! Or, taking a feminist turn - the most common German translation for >>> authority (in the sense of *power/control*) is *Herrschaft. *How about >>> *Frau-schaft? >>> *Or even *Frau schafft*! >>> >>> Language is tricky - translation even more so. >>> >>> Am Mittwoch, 4. März 2015 23:16:47 UTC+1 schrieb Gabby: >>>> >>>> Much as I would like to see it, I find myself despairing more and more >>>>> over the possibility of the kind of decent rational discourse Chris is >>>>> pleading for. >>>> >>>> >>>> Hm? Chris was pleading for you and Habermas is pleading for >>>> "herrschaftsfreier Diskurs", so not all hope is lost. ;) >>>> >>>> *Western liberalism *is the concept that I find needs further >>>> problematization. This is what I would see you working on. I am often >>>> astounded how differently the idea of "liberal" is taken in English >>>> speaking countries. >>>> >>>> 2015-03-04 17:55 GMT+01:00 frantheman <[email protected]>: >>>> >>>>> One of my professors has suggested that I do a research paper next >>>>> semester on the reception of Habermas' thinking about society in the >>>>> English-speaking (academic) world, Neil. I'm internally resisting because >>>>> I >>>>> find him so long-winded, obtuse, boring, and self-important (a typical >>>>> German academic in other words). I can think of about a hundred things >>>>> I'd >>>>> rather do than immerse myself in his writings - like cleaning the windows >>>>> in my flat for instance. >>>>> >>>>> Fundamentally, Habermas is also a typical German philosopher (like >>>>> Leibnitz and Hegel) in that he believes he lives in the best possible >>>>> world >>>>> - that of centre-left North European liberal democracy (though, should he >>>>> in his dotage find the way to this group, he would probably deny this and >>>>> condemn us all from his self-appointed position as the doyen of German >>>>> ivory-tower intellectuals). I would argue that there may have been a >>>>> moment >>>>> when he was perhaps partially right, but this moment has gone. >>>>> >>>>> In a longer historical context of the past 250 years, there was a >>>>> moment when the rationalist liberal bourgeois spirit seemed to be >>>>> reaching >>>>> some kind of fruition in the West - between the end of WWII and the >>>>> beginning of the 80s. Then came Reagan, Thatcher, and the religious >>>>> orthodoxy of neo-liberal economics and the moment was lost. What I >>>>> believe >>>>> happened was that the old (and some new) elites had finally recovered >>>>> enough power over the basic decency of New Deal, social-democratic, open, >>>>> liberal (in the true sense) democracy to once more rearrange things to >>>>> their own maximised benefit. This is the central point made by Piketty in >>>>> *Capital >>>>> in the Twenty-First Century. *No wonder he has been so viciously >>>>> attacked by various acolytes of neo-liberal economic orthodoxy. Since >>>>> then, >>>>> Habermas' "unfinished project" of western liberalism has been >>>>> continuously >>>>> - and purposely - unravelled, often leaving the forms intact while >>>>> killing >>>>> the living substance. >>>>> >>>>> Much as I would like to see it, I find myself despairing more and more >>>>> over the possibility of the kind of decent rational discourse Chris is >>>>> pleading for. It's possible - sometimes - in microcosmic areas like this >>>>> forum (though even here it can be easily sabotaged). There's one way of >>>>> telling the narrative of the history of ideas in the past 250 years which >>>>> goes like this: Once upon a time there was a dream of rational and >>>>> reasoned >>>>> discourse. It was called the Enlightenment. It soon became tainted by the >>>>> virus of Romanticism and it turned into Modernity, which came with lots >>>>> of >>>>> unpleasant features like nationalism and fascism. It has now almost >>>>> completely disappeared, constantly castigated by braying apologists of >>>>> nationalist, ideological, or religious certainty before ultimately >>>>> drowning >>>>> in a sea of triviality. >>>>> >>>>> Of course, that's only one way of telling the story. I don't think I'd >>>>> like to live in a platonic republic ruled by philosopher-kings and >>>>> Robespierre, Saint-Just, and the Committee of Public Safety justified the >>>>> Terror with an appeal to Reason. As humans we are more than just our >>>>> rationality. This is what makes real communication so difficult - but >>>>> also >>>>> so rich and fascinating. What we need, perhaps, is less certainty and >>>>> self-righteousness, more decency, respect, and listening. >>>>> >>>>> On Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 10:10:37 AM UTC+1, archytas wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> Interesting dictionaries Gabby. You actually sound a bit like >>>>>> Luhmann in this tense and grammar version. We could send all our >>>>>> messages >>>>>> to you in order to get the genuine and objective version of whatever we >>>>>> meant to say, though I'm sure you might resist the censorship >>>>>> implications >>>>>> of the new Gabbledegook. Understanding transitions from sensual to >>>>>> intellectual and various aspects of nuance has long been part of racist >>>>>> and >>>>>> classist presupposition in intelligence. >>>>>> >>>>>> The verstehen problematic includes the idea that we should not expect >>>>>> to treat language in our theoretical expectations, as 'naive' >>>>>> participants >>>>>> have their own assumptions and hypotheses of which researchers >>>>>> themselves >>>>>> may be ignorant. One thus goes for more 'ethno' approaches such as >>>>>> ethnomethodology. The literature is generally boring, not unlike >>>>>> dictionaries. I suppose we enter the learning hoping to stand on the >>>>>> shoulders of giants, but few enter these educational processes on a >>>>>> voluntary basis. Science, with its objective outcomes, should be easy >>>>>> to >>>>>> teach, yet is not. In Chris' 'strip the language for easy >>>>>> interpretation' >>>>>> terms, what could be easier than teaching people simple standardisation >>>>>> like "measuring a meniscus"? You can demonstrate the doing to explain >>>>>> the >>>>>> word and necessary actions. Now send the little dears off to do some >>>>>> titration. Simples! Yet much gets in the way even of this kind of >>>>>> simple >>>>>> instruction. Many kids aren't even considered fit to enter the >>>>>> laboratory >>>>>> and, indeed, even fit to have such simple pointed instruments as a >>>>>> compass >>>>>> to learn a bit of geometry (owing to stabbings, self-harm and so on). >>>>>> >>>>>> Gabby's spin is a delight, even if I get a vision of her standing >>>>>> with two feet in a rabbit hole, and was waiting for the barb at the end, >>>>>> which came here with a smile. AI can catch these patterns. Most of us >>>>>> in >>>>>> this game have noticed we are after machine intelligence because we >>>>>> despair >>>>>> of the glib internet world Francis describes.and that defeasible logic >>>>>> loses all beauty contests with Chris holding up a craft beer. The >>>>>> despair >>>>>> on human rationality and the libidinal biologically bound trivial is a >>>>>> motivator, perhaps once found in science cutting out the Idols Gabby has >>>>>> an >>>>>> undeclared better version of she has forgotten, in trying to get >>>>>> machines >>>>>> to do what humans have always failed at - argument properly informed by >>>>>> Reason and 'big data' approaches not constrained to selling us another >>>>>> planet-burning widget. One thing I think we have been very bad at is >>>>>> grasping frames of ideology, including why people generally act in them. >>>>>> >>>>>> This was the big theme in both Luhmann and Habermas, who did nothing on >>>>>> how >>>>>> we might live without the violence of poverty and needing to make >>>>>> livings. >>>>>> There is no grasp of Gabby as the existential cash girl she described >>>>>> herself as. One can model all of us in fuzzy sets on such lines, not >>>>>> unlike her idea of the trace of people's histories to the 'moment'. >>>>>> Socrates was described by his wife as a good-looking waster, not much >>>>>> good >>>>>> at putting food on the family table and helping with childcare. We >>>>>> neglect >>>>>> what argument is and why anyone else would want to listen to it. The >>>>>> dogs >>>>>> watch me, concerned only that I finish and enter their rationality of >>>>>> being >>>>>> off the lead along the riverbank. >>>>>> >>>>>> There is an old joke about standing in something on both feet. This >>>>>> is a punishment in hell, standing in excrement up to one's neck. This, >>>>>> of >>>>>> course, is for the tea break. One spends the rest of the day standing >>>>>> on >>>>>> one's hands. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 12:54:25 AM UTC, Gabby wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> What a question, Francis! Here is basically everything you can get >>>>>>> about "verstehen" in ist linguistic context: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://www.dwds.de/?view=1&qu=verstehen >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I guess you are interested in the tipping point when the sensuous >>>>>>> meaning "I am standing in this with both my feet" transgressed to the >>>>>>> field >>>>>>> where it became an expression for the process of intellectual >>>>>>> comprehension: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> in-stân besagt 'in einem gegenstande stehen, fuszen, zuhause sein', >>>>>>>> under-standen, under-stân 'dazwischen d. h. mitten darin stehen'. wenn >>>>>>>> nun >>>>>>>> noch, ob auch ganz vereinzelt, ein nhd. bestehen (th. 1, 1672) in >>>>>>>> demselben >>>>>>>> sinne gebraucht wird, so würde es die anschauung vertreten 'einen >>>>>>>> gegenstand umstehen, bestehen, in seiner gewalt haben' (ahd. >>>>>>>> bi-standan >>>>>>>> vgl. umbi-: griech. ἀμφι-). von diesem ausgangspunkte läszt sich der >>>>>>>> übergang von dem sinnlichen auf das geistige gebiet verstehen, wie uns >>>>>>>> die >>>>>>>> ähnlich entwickelten bildungen be-greifen und ver-nehmen noch heute >>>>>>>> semasiologisch durchsichtig sind. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> You can also see what the "ver"-prefix can do and has done to the >>>>>>> root words and vice versa: http://www.dwds.de/?view=1&qu=ver >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> And to do something "aus Versehen" would be an example of how an >>>>>>> educated Minds Eyer would justify their mistake. ;) >>>>>>> >>>>>>> 2015-03-03 18:56 GMT+01:00 frantheman <[email protected]>: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I and I sometimes overstand. Sometimes don't! And does *ver-stehen >>>>>>>> *have the same relationship to standing as *sich vertun *has to >>>>>>>> doing? >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 6:36:22 PM UTC+1, Gabby wrote: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Cheers Francis! >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Schonhaltung or schon Haltung. The break makes the difference. And >>>>>>>>> your medical knowledge bridges the gap. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Actually "overs", short form of "overstand", was my initial key >>>>>>>>> word that got me looking deeper/higher into language construction >>>>>>>>> long time >>>>>>>>> ago. I was deeply impressed by what I had learned about Jamaican >>>>>>>>> itations >>>>>>>>> and Rastafari poltitical poetry. In your case the ability to do >>>>>>>>> religious >>>>>>>>> contextualization of language items certainly helps when studying >>>>>>>>> Kulturwissenschaften. Viel Erfolg! >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> 2015-03-03 17:15 GMT+01:00 frantheman <[email protected]>: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> I'm still here - in some sense anyway. More passive, thoughtful, >>>>>>>>>> watching, listening and thinking. As they say on Facebook; it's >>>>>>>>>> complicated. There's such a volume of *stuff *out on the web now >>>>>>>>>> that I find my reluctance to contribute to it growing ever stronger >>>>>>>>>> in the >>>>>>>>>> past years. Do I have anything to say that thousands are others >>>>>>>>>> aren't >>>>>>>>>> saying? Is any attempt we make to say something not drowned out in a >>>>>>>>>> cacophony of of puppies, selfies, mindless chatter and incivility? >>>>>>>>>> In a >>>>>>>>>> world where significance seems to have become dependent on reduction >>>>>>>>>> to a >>>>>>>>>> viral hash-tagged tweet, or a five-second video on Vine, what >>>>>>>>>> happens to >>>>>>>>>> depth, complexity, the possibility of real interaction? Has >>>>>>>>>> communication >>>>>>>>>> finally reduced itself to atomic brevity and superficiality? >>>>>>>>>> Otherwise - >>>>>>>>>> tl;dr. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> "There is always an easy solution to every human problem -- neat, >>>>>>>>>> plausible, and wrong." What Menken actually said was a little >>>>>>>>>> different; >>>>>>>>>> "Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always >>>>>>>>>> a >>>>>>>>>> well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and >>>>>>>>>> wrong" (*The >>>>>>>>>> Divine Afflatus*, 1917). Even within the same language >>>>>>>>>> quotational drift occurs. Interpretative drift is a constitutive >>>>>>>>>> element of >>>>>>>>>> discourse. Our communication is always a hit-and-miss thing, or >>>>>>>>>> maybe, >>>>>>>>>> better, a constantly creative process. What you say, what I >>>>>>>>>> understand. >>>>>>>>>> Each of us culturally in our own particular place, but sharing >>>>>>>>>> enough to >>>>>>>>>> bring some kind of communication into being - a wonderful, organic, >>>>>>>>>> continually self-creating kind of thing, with all sorts of levels, >>>>>>>>>> eddies, >>>>>>>>>> side-effects. An orchestral symphonic symbolic performance of memes >>>>>>>>>> and >>>>>>>>>> tropes. And that's just when it's carried out between people who >>>>>>>>>> "share" a >>>>>>>>>> common language. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Accurate, one-to-one translation/conveyance of meaning is >>>>>>>>>> impossible; even between two speakers of the same language. >>>>>>>>>> Communication >>>>>>>>>> becomes something else, something independent. The German theorist, >>>>>>>>>> Niklas >>>>>>>>>> Luhmann <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Luhmann>, has some >>>>>>>>>> interesting ideas in this area. It's a deeply counter-intuitive way >>>>>>>>>> of >>>>>>>>>> seeing things - and useful as an instrument to challenge one's own >>>>>>>>>> assumptions, even if you don't go all the way with him. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Nobody - as far as I know - has translated Luhmann's major works >>>>>>>>>> from German into English. Understandably - it's hard enough trying >>>>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>>>> figure out what exactly he's saying in one language without trying >>>>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>>>> express it in another, and when you move to his discussions and >>>>>>>>>> arguments >>>>>>>>>> with Habermas <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Habermas> >>>>>>>>>> (another >>>>>>>>>> German master of the complicated obtuse) ... forgeddaboudit! >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Though translation programmes have improved in the past decade, >>>>>>>>>> they're still a long way from being good. Because "meaning"/"sense" >>>>>>>>>> is >>>>>>>>>> always contextual (human subjective contextual), therefore always >>>>>>>>>> fluid and >>>>>>>>>> shifting. This is more than just "fuzzy logic." I suspect we will >>>>>>>>>> need >>>>>>>>>> genuine AI as the basis of operating systems to make them really >>>>>>>>>> work. Two >>>>>>>>>> people from different lingusitic backrounds with very limited >>>>>>>>>> vocabularies >>>>>>>>>> can communicate better - agree that they have achieved some kind of >>>>>>>>>> understanding - than a programme which has access to comprehensive >>>>>>>>>> dictionaries. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> For the past months I've been formally studying - in the academic >>>>>>>>>> sense - in German. *Kulturwissenschaft *at that. It's a weird >>>>>>>>>> experience - there's stuff I can understand better in English, other >>>>>>>>>> stuff >>>>>>>>>> works better in German. There isn't even a good translation of the >>>>>>>>>> subject >>>>>>>>>> I'm doing my Masters in. A literal English translation of >>>>>>>>>> *Kulturwissenschaft >>>>>>>>>> *would be "cultural science" but English academia generally >>>>>>>>>> calls it "cultural studies." Which, when you think about it, means >>>>>>>>>> something else. Well, it's a post-modernist phenomenon anyway, >>>>>>>>>> which, >>>>>>>>>> arguably, allows one to be multidimensional with reference to >>>>>>>>>> meaning! >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> And sometimes it can be enormously productive to take an >>>>>>>>>> ordinary, everyday word in a particular language and twist it, mine >>>>>>>>>> it, >>>>>>>>>> pummel it, *rape *it, alienate it. Poets do this all the time. >>>>>>>>>> Sometimes even academics (a pretty mediocre lot for the most part) >>>>>>>>>> manage >>>>>>>>>> it. The use of the German word *Verstehen >>>>>>>>>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verstehen> *["to understand"] is >>>>>>>>>> one example. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Am Sonntag, 1. März 2015 01:56:27 UTC+1 schrieb Chris Jenkins: >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Was passiert, wenn der einzige Weg, wie wir kommunizieren >>>>>>>>>>> konnte, war durch Fremdsoftware nicht in der Lage zu verstehen, >>>>>>>>>>> unsere >>>>>>>>>>> Emotionen? Die digitale Kommunikation nicht Ton jetzt vermitteln, >>>>>>>>>>> sich >>>>>>>>>>> vorstellen, wenn sie verloren auch Nuancen in der Übersetzung? >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Ich denke an das, weil ich die Gespräche in dieser Gruppe häufig >>>>>>>>>>> brechen in zwei Menschen aneinander vorbei sprechen. Ich frage >>>>>>>>>>> mich, wenn >>>>>>>>>>> sie die anderen Lautsprecher verstehen überhaupt. Wenn unsere Worte >>>>>>>>>>> verloren nicht nur ihr Ton, sondern auch ihre heimatlichen Dialekt; >>>>>>>>>>> wenn >>>>>>>>>>> sie etwas wurde noch der Sprecher nicht verstehen, bevor sie von >>>>>>>>>>> einer >>>>>>>>>>> anderen Person erhalten, würden wir in der Lage, überhaupt zu >>>>>>>>>>> kommunizieren? >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Ich wünschte, Fran waren hier, um zu wiegen; er würde haben >>>>>>>>>>> Einblick Ich würde wertvoll wie ein englischer Muttersprachler, die >>>>>>>>>>> so viel >>>>>>>>>>> Zeit in einem Land mit einer anderen als seiner Muttersprache >>>>>>>>>>> verbracht >>>>>>>>>>> hat, zu finden. Gabby hat ähnliche Einsicht gegeben, wie viel Zeit >>>>>>>>>>> sie in >>>>>>>>>>> englischer Sprache bei uns verbringt, (und wie oft habe ich >>>>>>>>>>> gefragt, ob ich >>>>>>>>>>> einen Sinn in der Übersetzung verpasst), aber ich nehme an, sie >>>>>>>>>>> werden >>>>>>>>>>> meist nur Spaß meines schlecht übersetzt machen Deutsch. : D >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> --- >>>>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic >>>>>>>>>> in the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. >>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >>>>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/minds-eye/wo_ToDMnO4s/unsu >>>>>>>>>> bscribe. >>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email >>>>>>>>>> to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> --- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in >>>>>>>> the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/ >>>>>>>> topic/minds-eye/wo_ToDMnO4s/unsubscribe. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >>>>>>>> [email protected]. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> --- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >>>>> Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/ >>>>> topic/minds-eye/wo_ToDMnO4s/unsubscribe. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >>>>> [email protected]. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>> >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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