Is Sound Eternal, as the Mimansa Philosophers Believe It to Be or Is It Transitory as the Nyaya Says?
«Behind the claim that sound is eternal appears to be the idea that it must be eternal because the utterance of the word is for the purpose of another. Without this eternality, one person could not make anything known to another, because once the...» Document abstract
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SummaryBehind the claim that sound is eternal appears to be the idea that it must be eternal because the utterance of the word is for the purpose of another. Without this eternality, one person could not make anything known to another, because once the word was spoken, it would no longer exist. Another reason why sound is seen as eternal is to validate the authority of the Vedic scripture, and to show that it is itself eternal.
In this essay I will examine this claim that the word (or sound) is eternal, as set out in the Mimansa, and also the objections to this as set out in the Nyaya (Sourcebook, 1957, pp488-501). I believe that the Mimansa view makes a lot of sense, and although it perhaps seems strange to say that sound is eternal, it does explain how we can form relations between words and groups of words. It also explains how we know a word is the same word each time we hear an utterance of it, and do not believe it to be a new and different word.
In this essay I will examine this claim that the word (or sound) is eternal, as set out in the Mimansa, and also the objections to this as set out in the Nyaya (Sourcebook, 1957, pp488-501). I believe that the Mimansa view makes a lot of sense, and although it perhaps seems strange to say that sound is eternal, it does explain how we can form relations between words and groups of words. It also explains how we know a word is the same word each time we hear an utterance of it, and do not believe it to be a new and different word.
«The most famous exponent of the theory of incommensurability is Thomas Kuhn. To state his theory in the simplest form, incommensurability is simply the idea that theories within science are not compatible, and that the languages they use are, at...» Document abstract
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linguistics
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SummaryThe most famous exponent of the theory of incommensurability is Thomas Kuhn. To state his theory in the simplest form, incommensurability is simply the idea that theories within science are not compatible, and that the languages they use are, at least in part, mutually untranslatable. This is also linked with the idea that theories cannot be meaningfully compared with each other, because if two theories use different languages that cannot be translated from one to the other, then it seems the theories cannot be compared in any normal way.
«In this essay, I hope to show that some of the criticisms levelled against Hume, especially those by Robert Hambourger (1980), are not effective in their attempts to erode Hume’s argument. These issues were discussed in an article by Dorothy Coleman...» Document abstract
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SummaryIn this essay, I hope to show that some of the criticisms levelled against Hume, especially those by Robert Hambourger (1980), are not effective in their attempts to erode Hume’s argument. These issues were discussed in an article by Dorothy Coleman (1988), which I will use to outline the problems with Hambourger’s arguments.
Firstly, I will give an interpretation of Hume’s definition of a miracle, as discussed in his Enquiries Concerning Human the Understanding (Selby-Bigge ed, 1975).
Firstly, I will give an interpretation of Hume’s definition of a miracle, as discussed in his Enquiries Concerning Human the Understanding (Selby-Bigge ed, 1975).
«One of the main arguments to support the language of thought hypothesis (LOTH), as proposed by Fodor (1975), is that of the systematicity of thought. This argument consists of the idea that the ability to entertain certain thoughts is linked to the...» Document abstract
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SummaryOne of the main arguments to support the language of thought hypothesis (LOTH), as proposed by Fodor (1975), is that of the systematicity of thought. This argument consists of the idea that the ability to entertain certain thoughts is linked to the ability to entertain certain other thoughts. This concept is quite hard to explain directly, so the easiest way to look at this theory is through the systematicity of language, as Fodor and Pylysyhn (1988) do. I believe that the analogy between systematicity of language and systematicity of thought is a valid one. However, through the work of R. Cummins (1996, 2001, in press), I hope to show that the argument for systematicity of thought does not show the concrete support for the LOTH that is usually prescribed to it. I believe that this will have the impact of eroding the LOTH, because if one of the main arguments for it is shown to be false, then the theory becomes open to criticism in this area.
«In my opinion, David Hume, in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, completely destroys the traditional design argument. In this essay I will outline an example of the traditional design argument, as written by Newton, and also Hume’s critique...» Document abstract
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SummaryIn my opinion, David Hume, in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, completely destroys the traditional design argument. In this essay I will outline an example of the traditional design argument, as written by Newton, and also Hume’s critique of this argument, in his ‘Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion’ (1779, 1990, Bell ed.) This discussion is summarised in the Robert Hurlbutt book ‘Hume, Newton and the Design Argument’ (Lincoln University Press, 1965).
Newton seems to base his theology upon the limitations of his science, which may be a bad thing, because over time science becomes updated and his theories become obsolete. However, Newton at this point introduces his design argument in a more explicit sense than before:
Newton seems to base his theology upon the limitations of his science, which may be a bad thing, because over time science becomes updated and his theories become obsolete. However, Newton at this point introduces his design argument in a more explicit sense than before:
«Readers love the story of the predator and the prey, regardless of where or with whom the sympathy falls. A tale of survival or near-survival keeps us craving more, and if the creator or messenger of that story can secretly divulge wisdom along the...» Document abstract
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SummaryReaders love the story of the predator and the prey, regardless of where or with whom the sympathy falls. A tale of survival or near-survival keeps us craving more, and if the creator or messenger of that story can secretly divulge wisdom along the way, then both reader and author benefit.
Using a similar objective and a common motivation for their pieces, we can see that both Plumwood and Stark’s essays seek to educate their reader, while masking this behind a veil of entertainment. Furthermore, both pieces use contrasting writing styles to portray their stories of fight or flight, and to portray a theme that mankind needs to humble itself in regards to nature. Peter Stark’s essay “The Sting of the Assassin” seeks to relate a story of one of the world’s more deadly jellyfish, the box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri). Stark weaves his informative essay with a purely fictional tale regarding struggling newlyweds. Val Plumwood’s essay “Being Prey” contains none of the dialogue that “Assassin” uses, but the story may even be more powerful as the reader knows this story not only could happen, but did.
Using a similar objective and a common motivation for their pieces, we can see that both Plumwood and Stark’s essays seek to educate their reader, while masking this behind a veil of entertainment. Furthermore, both pieces use contrasting writing styles to portray their stories of fight or flight, and to portray a theme that mankind needs to humble itself in regards to nature. Peter Stark’s essay “The Sting of the Assassin” seeks to relate a story of one of the world’s more deadly jellyfish, the box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri). Stark weaves his informative essay with a purely fictional tale regarding struggling newlyweds. Val Plumwood’s essay “Being Prey” contains none of the dialogue that “Assassin” uses, but the story may even be more powerful as the reader knows this story not only could happen, but did.
«The mission lies before us: how are we, the American people, going to come together so that “cowabunga” is reinvigorated into mainstream conversation. It was not too terribly long ago, maybe 15 years, that this delightfully lighthearted...» Document abstract
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linguistics
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SummaryThe mission lies before us: how are we, the American people, going to come together so that “cowabunga” is reinvigorated into mainstream conversation. It was not too terribly long ago, maybe 15 years, that this delightfully lighthearted interjection tickled the ears of various pop-culture prone children. Yet, it seems that this wonderful English/Indian term has fallen off the tongues of many today. The word hit its stride in the 1980s and early ‘90s. I fear that stride is long behind us, never to be heard from again. However, a select few, when this four syllable interjection reaches their ears, can still appreciate it.
«The concept of family t presently, as the world has grown smaller, children no longer have and loyalty to family has been a virtue in nearly all times and cultures of this world. Albeithe need to embrace their parents as they once did. Yet in...» Document abstract
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SummaryThe concept of family t presently, as the world has grown smaller, children no longer have and loyalty to family has been a virtue in nearly all times and cultures of this world. Albeithe need to embrace their parents as they once did. Yet in Ibesn’s play Ghosts, the parent-child relationship is one of the story’s main struggles. It is this very struggle that leads to one of the play’s overall themes- one of lying and deceit even to one’s family. And the battle of love and hate is apparent in both the relationships of Engstrand and Regina and with Oswald and his mother Mrs. Alving. In all Acts we can see clear cut examples and underlying motivations of why all of these characters struggle to love one another.
«Patricia Highsmith’s short stories exemplify her interpretation of the human condition. However, her stories tend to involve characters with very extreme emotional conditions which ultimately cause them take surprising actions, those being the...» Document abstract
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SummaryPatricia Highsmith’s short stories exemplify her interpretation of the human condition. However, her stories tend to involve characters with very extreme emotional conditions which ultimately cause them take surprising actions, those being the typical climaxes of Highsmith short stories. In “Woodrow Wilson’s Necktie”, she tells of a teenage boy named Clive who enjoys visiting the local Waxworks Horror museum. After fulfilling a longing to stay overnight at the museum, Clive decides to perform what he thinks is another brilliant plan. He murders the museum workers and positions them around the museum displays in bizarre positions, after which to his irritation he is unsuccessful in convincing people that he committed the murders. In “Slowly, Slowly in the Wind”, we meet Skip, a middle aged man who moves to the country in an effort to relax and rejuvenate after a heart attack. He inevitably enters into a feud with his neighbor over water rights and ends up killing him, disposing of the body in a peculiar way as well. Both men find satisfaction in committing the murders, but their intentions are different in various important ways. Skip, an extremely angry and competitive man, kills because he loses, while Clive, a young boy who doubts his own existence, kills for notoriety; both men take great pride in their deeds.
«A novel word is one that is not found in the lexicon of the general population; in other words, it is a word that people have not heard or seen previously. A novel compound is a compound word formed out of two or more individual known words where...» Document abstract
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SummaryA novel word is one that is not found in the lexicon of the general population; in other words, it is a word that people have not heard or seen previously. A novel compound is a compound word formed out of two or more individual known words where the combination of these words has not previously been recorded. So, one might wonder how listeners are able to interpret compound words they have never heard before. A method involving semantic schemas has been proposed by Mary Ellen Ryder.
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Document>philosophy & literature