Inscrutability of Reference as a Result of Quine’s Structuralism

Quine, Structure, and Ontology ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198864288.003.0005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 82-95

Author(s):

Jaroslav Peregrin

Keyword(s):

Natural Language ◽

Thought Experiment ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

Peculiar Form ◽

Inscrutability Of Reference

In his later writings Quine is increasingly explicit about the fact that his view of language is, in a certain sense, structuralistic. Structuralist interpretations of non-empirical, especially mathematical theories are now commonplace, but this chapter argues that Quine’s thought experiment with radical translation can be interpreted as showing that even empirical theories cannot be anchored in reality so firmly as to evade the same structuralist nature. Therefore, this peculiar form of structuralism extends to all our theories––the terms of all of them are best seen as meaning not definite substances, but nodes in certain structures. Moreover, radical translation shows––or purports to show––that the structure behind any natural language allows for some non-trivial ‘automorphisms’––that mapping the meaning of rabbit on that of undetached rabbit part, provided we make an appropriate remapping of many other meanings, does not change the language. Inscrutability of reference is then only a direct consequence.

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Learnability and grammar reorganization in L2A: against negative evidence causing the unlearning of verb movement

Interlanguage studies bulletin (Utrecht) ◽

10.1177/026765839200800102 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 1-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Bonnie D. Schwartz ◽

Magda Gubala-Ryzak

Keyword(s):

Natural Language ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

Negative Evidence ◽

Verb Movement ◽

Building Process ◽

Nonnative Language ◽

Learnability Theory ◽

Linguistic Behaviour ◽

The Right

This paper reassesses the role of Negative Evidence (NE) in nonnative language acquisition. We argue that the grammar-building process cannot make use of NE to restructure (Interlanguage) grammars - irrespective of logical need. The empirical basis comes from White's (1991a; 1991b) study of French speakers acquiring English, where the 'Verb Movement' parameter and the particular learnability problem of 'unlearning' thematic Verb- movement were the focus. The L2ers start off assuming the L1 value of [+] Verb-movement, thus incorrectly allowing the order S V Adv O in English, and the issue is whether NE can force a switch to the [-] value, whereby S V Adv O should be excluded. While it is indisputable that the L2ers changed their linguistic behaviour as a direct consequence of their exposure to NE, the conclusion we draw is quite distinct from that of White. Based on both the postinstruction data and an argument grounded in formal learnability theory, we show that an inherent contradiction must be imputed to the Interlanguage 'grammar' to account for the results: in addition to no longer permitting S V Adv O, the L2ers also (incorrectly) disallow S V Adv PP; to exclude the latter, the grammar must have 'un learned' base-generating Adverbs to the right of VP but other data dispute this, i.e., S V O/PP Adv is still allowed. Since natural language grammars cannot contain such inherent contradictions, we conclude that a natural language grammar could not be the source of this L2 behaviour. Our explanation is that the L2ers simply extended the *S V Adv O pattern that they were taught. In sum, there is no evidence that NE caused the L2ers to unlearn Verb-movement and hence NE did not restructure the Interlanguage grammar. Implications of this conclusion are discussed in relation to the issues of learnability and 'UG-accessibility' in L2A.

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Aesthetic Puzzlements: Jonas Mekas's Diary Films and Ludwig Wittgenstein

Film-Philosophy ◽

10.3366/film.2020.0137 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 162-184

Author(s):

Ieva Jasinskaite

Keyword(s):

Ludwig Wittgenstein ◽

Thought Experiment ◽

Philosophical Investigations ◽

Everyday Activities ◽

Domestic Activities ◽

Peculiar Form ◽

The Everyday ◽

Life Itself ◽

The Aesthetic ◽

Aesthetic Ideal

In this article, I argue that by considering Ludwig Wittgenstein's methods, we can better understand and appreciate Jonas Mekas's diary films. Based on Wittgenstein's notion of “aesthetic puzzlement”, I identify the main confusions encountered by the viewer upon watching Mekas's films, such as: 1) fragmentation; 2) persistent repetition; and 3) the importance placed on the everyday. I discuss three films – Walden (1969), Lost Lost Lost (1976), and As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) – and demonstrate that the aesthetic puzzlements within them may be dissolved by looking at the format of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations (1953). Mekas's lifelong interest in filming the most mundane and domestic scenes can be understood as a puzzlement in itself: why not just admire the ordinary whilst living in it? Wittgenstein's thought experiment in Culture and Value helps us understand the aesthetic puzzlement of Mekas's interest in filming, remembering and presenting an extensive array of everyday activities, and also explains why the viewer can find the most mundane and domestic activities in his films remarkable. Additionally, I discuss how Mekas's diary films may be regarded as coming close to Wittgenstein's aesthetic ideal of art as being able to represent “life itself”. I aim to show how Mekas's cinematic practice places extreme importance on ordinary acts and offers a mode of thinking which echoes Wittgenstein's own views on philosophy. I conclude with a discussion of “nomadism”, a notion that elucidates the peculiar form of the works of both Wittgenstein and Mekas.

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Chatterbox Challenge as a Test-Bed for Synthetic Emotions

Creating Synthetic Emotions through Technological and Robotic Advancements ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-1595-3.ch007 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 118-144

Author(s):

Jordi Vallverdú ◽

Huma Shah ◽

David Casacuberta

Keyword(s):

Natural Language ◽

Thought Experiment ◽

Turing Test ◽

Test Bed ◽

Industry Funding ◽

Language Understanding ◽

Web Based ◽

Computing Machinery ◽

Insight Into ◽

Technology Comparison

Chatterbox Challenge is an annual web-based contest for artificial conversational systems, ACE. The 2010 instantiation was the tenth consecutive contest held between March and June in the 60th year following the publication of Alan Turing’s influential disquisition ‘computing machinery and intelligence’. Loosely based on Turing’s viva voca interrogator-hidden witness imitation game, a thought experiment to ascertain a machine’s capacity to respond satisfactorily to unrestricted questions, the contest provides a platform for technology comparison and evaluation. This paper provides an insight into emotion content in the entries since the 2005 Chatterbox Challenge. The authors find that synthetic textual systems, none of which are backed by academic or industry funding, are, on the whole and more than half a century since Weizenbaum’s natural language understanding experiment, little further than Eliza in terms of expressing emotion in dialogue. This may be a failure on the part of the academic AI community for ignoring the Turing test as an engineering challenge.

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Electron Diffraction Analysis of Microtwin Structures in Regrown (III) Silicon

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100054765 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 460-461

Author(s):

P. Ling ◽

R. Gronsky ◽

J. Washburn

Keyword(s):

Electron Diffraction ◽

Ion Implantation ◽

Diffraction Analysis ◽

Diffraction Pattern ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

The Other ◽

Electron Diffraction Analysis ◽

Defect Microstructures ◽

Ion Implanted

The defect microstructures of Si arising from ion implantation and subsequent regrowth for a (111) substrate have been found to be dominated by microtwins. Figure 1(a) is a typical diffraction pattern of annealed ion-implanted (111) Si showing two groups of extra diffraction spots; one at positions (m, n integers), the other at adjacent positions between <000> and <220>. The object of the present paper is to show that these extra reflections are a direct consequence of the microtwins in the material.

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Audiology Service Models in a Family Physician Practice Setting

Perspectives on Audiology ◽

10.1044/poa6.1.24 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 24-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sridhar Krishnamurti

Keyword(s):

Pediatric Patients ◽

Practice Patterns ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

Direct Access ◽

Practice Setting ◽

Pediatric Populations ◽

Family Practice Physicians ◽

Primary Focus ◽

Balance Problems

This article illustrates the potential of placing audiology services in a family physician’s practice setting to increase referrals of geriatric and pediatric patients to audiologists. The primary focus of family practice physicians is the diagnosis/intervention of critical systemic disorders (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer). Hence concurrent hearing/balance disorders are likely to be overshadowed in such patients. If audiologists get referrals from these physicians and have direct access to diagnose and manage concurrent hearing/balance problems in these patients, successful audiology practice patterns will emerge, and there will be increased visibility and profitability of audiological services. As a direct consequence, audiological services will move into the mainstream of healthcare delivery, and the profession of audiology will move further towards its goals of early detection and intervention for hearing and balance problems in geriatric and pediatric populations.

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