慣用的なことばへの抗い --フレーゲを例に-- (冨田恭彦教授 退職記念号)

Abstract

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), a pioneer of modern logic and the inventor of his own new language 'Begriffsschrift', had a complaint against everyday language while trying to reduce arithmetic to logic. I pick up his opinion, 'Don't be overly shy of new signs', and examine whether we should keep on using conventional words or invent new words. If new thoughts are expressed using new signs or words, these new thoughts may not be accepted, because new signs or words are unknown to others, and they may shy away from reading them and feel troubled. On the contrary, if conventional signs or words are used, new thoughts may not be accepted either, because conventional signs or words are known to others, and hence, they may not be read carefully, or may be skipped while reading, leading to a hasty conclusion, since people are used to reading in this manner naturally. In either case, it is difficult to express new thoughts. Perhaps, it may seem useless to use and invent new signs or words. However, I believe, that it is very important to do so. To get used to conventional words may prevent us from thinking about why these words are used conventionally. In philosophy, if it is important to rethink what many people usually think, it is not desirable to get used to conventional words. Exploring obsolete words and inventing new words offer an opportunity to rethink conventional words and what is believed to be known conventionally, although it is in fact not. Naturally, this is a troublesome issue. Many people are not keen to do this. However, doing troublesome things is doing what many people do not do, and this would lead to noticing that many people do not notice. In conclusion, a fight against conventional words would result in understanding good old words well. Moreover, it is important to pass these words on to later generations with an understanding of why they are good and to create better thoughts than ever. I believe that this would also lead to understanding human language, human thoughts, and the human itself. This time it was my turn; will you accompany me on a similar attempt next time?