On the Western Metaphysical Tradition Underlying Major Linguistic Theories: Some Remarks with Special Reference to Several Modes of Inference

摘要

Prevailing linguistic theories, whether they are of syntax or of pragmatics, are loadedwith ideas that often leave Japanese linguists perplexed and alienated. At the root of theseideas is a Western metaphysical tradition that dates back to Plato and Aristotle, according towhich divine reality is considered to exist beyond the reach of our sensory perception. Thus,physical objects and physical events are just “shadows”, both temporary and inconsequential,of their ideal or perfect forms, which are inaccessible to those that use only their senses.Since Japanese linguists, however, tend indeed to believe in things that they can perceivewith their five senses, to them such trust in divine reality is incomprehensible.Awareness of this ideal or perfect existence is claimed to be universal, and achievedthrough rationality. This belief often leads major Western linguists to assume that humanbeings are entirely rational and reliably efficient creatures, and blithely to ignore allirrational and inefficient aspects to their communicative behavior. Focusing on several modesof inference that seem relevant to pragmatics, this paper suggests that attention should begiven to non-monotonic reasoning (i.e., a method of inference that allows the production ofmore than one interpretation of an utterance), the idea of which is both non-rational andaslo perfectly palatable to Japanese linguists, whose thinking is quite independent of theWestern metaphysical tradition referred to above.