A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language

Prolegomena to a Theory of Language, the main work of Louis Hjelmslev, is an account of his “Glossematics” which is a complex formal theory about the nature of linguistic knowledge and the structure of human understanding in general. The current paper starts with a brief evaluation of a newly releas...

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Main Author: Mehdi Safaie-Qalati
Format: Article
Language:fas
Published: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies (IHCS) 2021-03-01
Series:پژوهش‌نامۀ انتقادی متون و برنامه‌های علوم انسانی
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Online Access:https://criticalstudy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5719_bc1e9ed7ec7555a6fbc8586cb7397f0f.pdf
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author Mehdi Safaie-Qalati
author_facet Mehdi Safaie-Qalati
author_sort Mehdi Safaie-Qalati
collection DOAJ
description Prolegomena to a Theory of Language, the main work of Louis Hjelmslev, is an account of his “Glossematics” which is a complex formal theory about the nature of linguistic knowledge and the structure of human understanding in general. The current paper starts with a brief evaluation of a newly released Persian translation of this work; the problem triggering a hermeneutic interpretation of Hjelmslev’s theory in the light of Kant’s “pure reason” in the second part of the current paper is a claim about the potentials of “Glossematics” to be revived as an operational theory of linguistic epistemology in the current mainstream of Linguistics. I have shown that, like any other structural theory of human understanding, basing the “necessity” of the formal propositions of “Glossematics” on the notion of “structure” is the theory’s Achilles heel making this initially intended “self-contained” theory change into a paradoxically “transcendental” epistemology. This transcendence in turn, puts Glossematics in the same boat with Nativist epistemological schools, which are all vulnerable to similar challenges. In conclusion, Hjelmslev’s theory of “Glossematics” is shown to be another “Objectivist” theory that is ruled out by the current findings in Cognitive Sciences.
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series پژوهش‌نامۀ انتقادی متون و برنامه‌های علوم انسانی
spelling doaj-art-cc3a147ddd21468ca634c93c6c5813ad2025-01-08T05:43:24ZfasInstitute for Humanities and Cultural Studies (IHCS)پژوهش‌نامۀ انتقادی متون و برنامه‌های علوم انسانی2383-16502021-03-0121119321610.30465/crtls.2020.31696.18985719A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of LanguageMehdi Safaie-Qalati0Assistant Profrssor of Linguistics, English Department, Chabahar Maritime University (CMU)Prolegomena to a Theory of Language, the main work of Louis Hjelmslev, is an account of his “Glossematics” which is a complex formal theory about the nature of linguistic knowledge and the structure of human understanding in general. The current paper starts with a brief evaluation of a newly released Persian translation of this work; the problem triggering a hermeneutic interpretation of Hjelmslev’s theory in the light of Kant’s “pure reason” in the second part of the current paper is a claim about the potentials of “Glossematics” to be revived as an operational theory of linguistic epistemology in the current mainstream of Linguistics. I have shown that, like any other structural theory of human understanding, basing the “necessity” of the formal propositions of “Glossematics” on the notion of “structure” is the theory’s Achilles heel making this initially intended “self-contained” theory change into a paradoxically “transcendental” epistemology. This transcendence in turn, puts Glossematics in the same boat with Nativist epistemological schools, which are all vulnerable to similar challenges. In conclusion, Hjelmslev’s theory of “Glossematics” is shown to be another “Objectivist” theory that is ruled out by the current findings in Cognitive Sciences.https://criticalstudy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5719_bc1e9ed7ec7555a6fbc8586cb7397f0f.pdfglossematicshjelmslevstructureformalismpure reason
spellingShingle Mehdi Safaie-Qalati
A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language
پژوهش‌نامۀ انتقادی متون و برنامه‌های علوم انسانی
glossematics
hjelmslev
structure
formalism
pure reason
title A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language
title_full A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language
title_fullStr A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language
title_full_unstemmed A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language
title_short A Critique of Pure Linguistic Reason: Kantian Remarks on Prolegomena to a Theory of Language
title_sort critique of pure linguistic reason kantian remarks on prolegomena to a theory of language
topic glossematics
hjelmslev
structure
formalism
pure reason
url https://criticalstudy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5719_bc1e9ed7ec7555a6fbc8586cb7397f0f.pdf
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AT mehdisafaieqalati critiqueofpurelinguisticreasonkantianremarksonprolegomenatoatheoryoflanguage