3 ms·

The Herzbergers' paper: https://sci-hub.ru/10.1007/BF00202726 https://sci-hub.ru/10.1007/BF00202726

• rramadass 1mo ago
  Thank You. Bhartrhari (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhart%E1%B9%9Bhari https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhart%E1%B9%9Bhari) is a pretty difficult philosopher who seems to be enjoying a revival now due to the ascendancy of AI LLMs and the question of whether they can be considered as having "consciousness". His central idea (highly simplified) is that since Language is the only way we can name objects and discuss relations between them it is synonymous with "Reality" and "Consciousness". Sort of like how the properties of an object define that object (ADTs anyone?). One can imagine that the use of language by LLMs gives birth to appearance of both consciousness and reality as "emergent phenomena" in it. In his theory of "Sphota" he posits that "meaning bursts forth" (in consciousness) as an indivisible whole when a complete sentence/sentences is/are uttered (is this what happens when LLMs do reasoning and generate text within a "context window"?) Perhaps Epistemology and Ontology are just two sides of the same coin. Some resources for further study; 1) Bhartṛhari’s Linguistic Idealism - https://loc.closertotruth.com/theory/bhart-hari-s-linguistic-idealism https://loc.closertotruth.com/theory/bhart-hari-s-linguistic... 2) Bhartrhari on Language, Perception, and Consciousness - https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/27982/chapter-abstract/211665674?redirectedFrom=fulltext https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/27982/chapter-abstrac... 3) The Word And The World: India's Contribution To The Study Of Language by Bimal Krishna Matilal - https://archive.org/details/wordandtheworldindiascontributiontothestudyoflanguagebimalakrishnamatilal_202003_376_e https://archive.org/details/wordandtheworldindiascontributio... 4) Sabda: A Study of Bhartrhari's Philosophy of Language by Tandra Patnaik. This is particularly scholarly with the author comparing western authors (like Frege and Wittgenstein) model of language with Bhartrhari - https://test.dkprintworld.com/product/sabda/ https://test.dkprintworld.com/product/sabda/ 5) The Sphota Theory of Language by Harold Coward - https://www.mlbd.in/products/sphota-theory-of-language-harold-g-coward-9788120801813-8120801814?variant=49213095739678 https://www.mlbd.in/products/sphota-theory-of-language-harol... 6) Sphota - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spho%E1%B9%ADa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spho%E1%B9%ADa
  • kranner 1mo ago
    Excellent resources, thank you. Discussions of Sphotavāda are limited to the non-English Indosphere, largely, but the word itself is also used in high register Hindi to appreciate an unexpected but brilliant off-hand remark. Sort of like the English expression of calling something inspired; it both appreciates the speaker while taking away from their absolute agency.