Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Roots of Reference', 'Russell's Ontological Development' and 'The Nature of Musical Expression'

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6 ideas

2. Reason / D. Definition / 12. Paraphrase

21699	Russell offered a paraphrase of definite description, to avoid the commitment to objects [Quine]
	Full Idea: Russell's theory involved defining a term not by presenting a direct equivalent of it, but by 'paraphrasis', providing equivalents of the sentences. In this way, reference to fictitious objects can be simulated without our being committed to the objects.
	From: Willard Quine (Russell's Ontological Development [1966], p.75)
	A reaction: I hadn't quite grasped that the modern strategy of paraphrase tracks back to Russell - though it now looks obvious, thanks to Quine. Paraphrase is a beautiful way of sidestepping ontological problems. See Frege on the moons of Jupiter.

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 3. Powers as Derived

14296	Dispositions are physical states of mechanism; when known, these replace the old disposition term [Quine]
	Full Idea: Each disposition, in my view, is a physical state or mechanism. ...In some cases nowadays we understand the physical details and set them forth explicitly in terms of the arrangement and interaction of small bodies. This replaces the old disposition.
	From: Willard Quine (The Roots of Reference [1990], p.11), quoted by Stephen Mumford - Dispositions 01.3
	A reaction: A challenge to the dispositions and powers view of nature, one which rests on the 'categorical' structural properties, rather than the 'hypothetical' dispositions. But can we define a mechanism without mentioning its powers?

19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 7. Meaning Holism / a. Sentence meaning

21700	Taking sentences as the unit of meaning makes useful paraphrasing possible [Quine]
	Full Idea: The new freedom that Russell confers by paraphrasis (of definite descriptions) is our reward for recognising that the unit of communication is the sentence and not the word.
	From: Willard Quine (Russell's Ontological Development [1966], p.75)
	A reaction: Since many people hardly ever speak a properly formed sentence, I take propositions to be better candidates for this. However, I don't see how we can reject the compositional view (the meanings are assembled).

21701	Knowing a word is knowing the meanings of sentences which contain it [Quine]
	Full Idea: We can say that knowing words is knowing how to work out the meanings of sentences containing them. Dictionary definitions are mere clauses in a recursive definition of the meanings of sentences.
	From: Willard Quine (Russell's Ontological Development [1966], p.76)
	A reaction: Do you have to recursively define all the sentences that might contain the word, before you can fully know the meaning of the word? He seems to credit Russell with the holistic view of sentences (though I think that starts with Frege).

21. Aesthetics / B. Nature of Art / 4. Art as Expression

12165	Romantics say music expresses ideas, or the Will, or intuitions, or feelings [Scruton]
	Full Idea: According to the Romantic theory music was an expression of something, of an idea (Hegel), of the Will (Schopenhauer), of 'intuitions' (Croce), or of feelings (Collingwood).
	From: Roger Scruton (The Nature of Musical Expression [1981], p.54)
	A reaction: Deryck Cooke was the culmination of music as expression of feeling, and Stravinsky was the greatest rebel against the whole idea of expression in music. You can set out to create interesting music which does or does not grab the emotions.

21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 4. Emotion in Art

12164	Expressing melancholy is a good thing, but arousing it is a bad thing [Scruton]
	Full Idea: To describe a piece of music as expressive of melancholy is to give a reason for listening to it; to describe it as arousing or evoking melancholy is to give a reason for avoiding it.
	From: Roger Scruton (The Nature of Musical Expression [1981], p.49)
	A reaction: Expressing sexual desire, while avoiding arousing it, is the nice challenge for a particular type of art. Would Scruton say that expressing joy is a good thing, but arousing it is bad? It is a nice observation, though.