认知神经科学的语言困境及其哲学出路
作者简介:尤洋,山西大学哲学学院暨科学技术哲学研究中心教授(山西太原 030006);郭宇,山西大学科学技术哲学研究中心博士研究生(山西太原 030006)。
基金项目:
本文为教育部人文社科重点研究基地重大项目“神经科学视域下的脑机智能哲学问题研究”(22JJD720017)、国家社会科学基金项目“中国化马克思主义社会认识论与当代认知科学的融合研究”(24VRC004)的阶段性成果
摘要: 当代认知神经科学存在着“混乱”的语言使用现象,相较于神经科学家的实证工作,哲学的语言分析能够发现其蕴含的语言概念和语义问题以及隐藏于其中的语言困境。认知神经科学的语言使用既有第三人称视角下的语言构造与现象同一,也有第一人称视角下的语言嵌入与心物连接,它们共同构成了现代神经科学范式影响下的认知语言系统。语言的使用状况导致认知神经科学产生了诸如日常语言与科学语言的大量交织、多学科语言的深描与杂糅、历史视野下新旧范式的理论负载生成与转换的语言特性。同时,语言概念的表述含混会带来理解语义上的偏差,进而产生预设负载导致概念混淆引发的无意义问题、不当的隐喻和类比的扩大这三类语言困境。面对这些困境,存在着由温和到激进的三种哲学解决路径,包括通过语域理论实现科学语言与日常语言之间的合理转换,利用事实迭代法使认知神经科学语言处于动态沟通和构建的过程,以及最终构建一种专属于认知神经科学的人工语言体系以克服语言困境。
The Linguistic Dilemma of Cognitive Neuroscience and Its Philosophical Solutions
Abstract: Contemporary cognitive neuroscience exhibits a “confusion” use of language.Compared to the empirical work of neuroscientists,philosophical language analysis can uncover the underlying linguistic concepts and semantic issues,revealing the hidden linguistic dilemmas.The language use in cognitive neuroscience includes the third-person perspective of language construction and phenomenon identification,as well as the first-person perspective of language embedding and the mind-body connection.Together,these form a cognitive language system shaped by the modern neuroscience paradigm.The state of language use has led to several characteristics in cognitive neuroscience,such as the extensive intertwining of ordinary language and scientific language,the deep integration and blending of multidisciplinary languages,and the generation and transformation of theoretical burdens from old to new paradigms within a historical context.However,the ambiguity in linguistic concepts can cause semantic misunderstandings,resulting in three major linguistic dilemmas:meaningless issues caused by preset biases leading to conceptual confusion,the overextension of improper metaphors,and the expansion of inappropriate analogies.To address these dilemmas,there are three philosophical solutions ranging from moderate to radical:achieving reasonable translation between scientific and everyday language through the framework of domain theory,utilizing the method of factual iteration to position cognitive neuroscience language within a dynamic process of communication and construction,and ultimately constructing an artificial language system unique to cognitive neuroscience to overcome these linguistic challenges.