Distinguish Between Sense Reference And Denotation Philosophy Essay

Distinguish Between Sense Reference And Denotation Philosophy Essay Individuals transfer their thoughts and ideas to each other via language. The speakers of a language have a common basic vocabulary, and share the knowledge of meaning of several words, in their mental lexicon. The meaning of an expression cannot be understood as the definitions found in a dictionary entry; consequently, linguists suggest alternative ways of defining meaning. K. Nelson (1985) proposed that meaning has three counterparts relating to: reference, denotation and sense. A reference is the association between an expression and the object it refers to (the referent). Expressions referring to a particular object or entity in the world are described as referring expressions J.I Saeed (2003). Therefore, girl is a referent in: That girl seems nice, which is a referring expression. Objects in the world Reference, partly depends on the sense of expressions. Sense shows a relationship between the expression and the object in the world, in relation to a mental representation. J.I Saeed (2003) describes a mental representation as a complex and abstract element relating an idea to the object in the world (the concept). The relationship between sense, the expression and the referent was outlined by C.K. Ogden and I.A Richards when they presented the first semiotic triangle in: The Meaning of Meaning (1923). In the meaning triangle an expression is thought to provide access to an underlying concept, which in turn refers to an object in the world (referent). This clarifies the existence of a relationship between a word, a sense and its referent. Denotes A distinction between reference and sense is made in: On Sense and Reference, G. Frege (1892), revealing their close correlation whilst it is also suggesting that the sense of a sign may change without altering the referent. In order to describe how expressions referring to the same object may differ in sense, Frege presents the expressions morning star and evening star. Both refer to the same object regardless of their different senses. (Morning star= Venus at dawn whilst Evening star= Venus at dusk). Frege describes the reference as the expression having an actual object corresponding to it and the sense of this expression as the concept of the expression. An expression is said to expand its ability to denote because it is associated to an object, in the speakers mind. Hence, reference and denotation are closely related. Referring is the action taken by the speaker in picking out objects in the world while denoting is a property possessed by the expression. A denotation is a constant relationship in a language which is independent of word use; it is not altered by time, unlike reference. Two major theories also clarify the terms reference and denotation, both theories highlight the relationship between a linguistic expression and a referent. The Denotational Theory describes a direct relationship between expressions and objects. The Representational Theory, on the other hand, states that the relationship between the words and objects in the world is mediated by our mental model. To conclude, language is seen as a means of recognizing objects in the world. Reference cannot be the sole idea of the theory of meaning but our semantic knowledge suggests that sense, reference and denotation are vital for our understanding. Speakers of the same language understand each other because they share a basic vocabulary whilst also making sense of what a particular expression is denoting and referring to. 4. Outline the main features of Prototype Theory and show how it differs from the classical view of concepts as necessary and sufficient conditions. Give examples to support your answer. Through the years, philosophers, scientists and linguists have thought about how language ties a word to a particular concept, whilst raising arguments about what makes a concept and what is the definition of meaning. One of the most remarkable theories presented in the 1970s was that of Eleanor Rosch and her colleagues. This theory is based on the idea of prototypes, viewing concepts as constructed with the intention of creating a more typical member of a category, but eventually deviating into a less typical and hazier idea. For example in the  Ã¢â‚¬ ºcolour Ã‚  concept; red is a more central representative, as opposed to fuchsia. E. Rosch and her co-workers sustained their theory by analysing trends seen in the evidence they obtained during their experiments; speakers settled for the more typical members of a category of concepts. This demonstrates how categories are structured; some members of a concept may be more prototypical than others, lacking a certain sense of boundary. So, if speakers are asked for an example of  Ã¢â‚¬ ºfruit Ã‚ , they are expected to come up with more obvious examples, such as apples, rather than plums. This happens since the more outlined ideas, are the first that come to the speakers mind, because the speaker is more used to these ideas, and feels they are the safer and more accurate. Categories are mostly based upon the speakers knowledge and experience of the real world. These categories are learned ideas, they are personal ideas (personal construct) and so they are biased. As a result the lexicon (and conceptual categories) will differ according to the individuals social background and culture. The Prototype Theory is sometimes described as a non-classical theory because, may contrast the principles of the classical view. The classical theory suggested that an object could be correctly referred to by a word only if it has the correct qualifications with regards to characteristics that signify the meaning of the expression or the word. For example, any type of bird is a bird only if it has feathers, has wings, flies etc. If the bird does not have wings, then the label bird in inadequate and does not apply to the concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºbird Ã‚ . Central Concept Considering, the concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºCat Ã‚ ; the first idea that comes to a speakers mind would be a small, meowing, four-legged, furry animal, with a tail. Merging out into the fuzzier members of this category, would give not only big cats like leopards, lions and tigers, but also Sphinx (furless cats) and Manx (tail less cats). If the classical theory was applicable to this category, a Sphinx would never be considered a cat because it is furless, a Manx wouldnt be considered a cat either because it has no tail, and even tigers, leopards and lions, they would be declined in the cat category for the reason that they do not meow, they roar. In spite of the fact that the classical theory was taken for granted as correct for a long period of time, the breakthrough brought about by the works of E. Rosch brought linguists, philosophers and scientists alike to a understand the complexity of the meaning of a concept, and how it does not only depend on the entity it is tied to but also to the individual way by which it is perceived, a true milestone in cognitive language. To what extent would you expect people who speak different languages to display fundamental differences in the way they think and perceive the world? Support your answer with examples from one particular domain, such as that of colour terms or number words. The question of whether thought differs by culture, due to language differences in cultures has been puzzling philosophers for a long period of time. Does the representation in human thought involve a linguistic element or does it comprise mental images, independent of language? No stable conclusion has ever been taken regarding this situation but philosophers and linguists alike have aimed their studies and observations towards finding a clearer explanation. The Universalist point of view suggests that thought is autonomous from language, whilst the Realist view suggests that language mirrors culture (relativism) and it influences the manner by which we think (determinism). The latter view suggests that cultural differences result in different ways of thinking. Humbolt (19th century philosopher) implies that; languages project different perspectives on the world. Two of the most prominent relativist theorists were Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. E. Sapir proposed that language made part of culture, and therefore is a factor that effects how a speaker thinks: We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. (Sapir, 1929). Whorf further suggested that culture not only ties itself to language but is also related to the way thought is created, paying attention to how grammar may create alternative lines of thought (Whorf, 1956). Speakers of different languages are expected to think differently, this is not only due to their cultural differences but also due to their different language and linguistic abilities. By no means does a simpler language make the speaker simple-minded, but not having words to describe a concept, may contrast that more complex language in terms of expressivity. For example, how can a person think that Christmas comes in December, without the words Christmas and December in his mental lexicon? The analysis for the further understanding of how language and thought relate can be done by analysing two speakers of different languages and comparing the way an object is perceived with regard to the vocabulary present within the language of each speaker. Taking the core concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºcolour Ã‚  and assuming that everyone has the same mental capacity to perceive concepts; if a language (L1) fails to provide a word for the colour yellow; language does indeed effect perception, only if speakers of L1 will be unable to perceive the concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºyellow Ã‚ . Berlin and Kay (1969) studied this relation between thought, culture and language by tackling the core concept of colours; comparing languages whilst questioning whether there is a pattern for the understanding of core concepts to all cultures. For example: Dani (New Guinea) has two terms for describing colour, Tamil (India) has six terms for colour whilst Lebanese Arabic and English each have up to eleven terms. E. Rosch revised the Berlin and Kay theory by comparing speakers of Dani (having only a black/white system) and English speakers. Rosch studied whether speakers of Dani could still observe different colours and differentiate between them. Results of this stu dy showed that regardless of their linguistic contrasts; Dani and English speakers showed the same trends in colour understanding helping Rosch to conclude that colour concepts are universal. Language and thought may be related since certain concepts cannot be thought of unless the thinker or speaker has a language. Therefore, language and culture are seen to go hand in hand with thought.

Speeding: Speed Limit and Effective Form

The quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line but while driving a vehicle that is rarely an available path. So to make up for that some people decide to speed, but with speeding comes a lot of risk and dangers. Speeding can cause you to get a ticket which is expensive and time consuming, increase your cost of insurance, put your life and others lives in danger, and above all it is against the law. In North Carolina, 1 person is killed or injured in speed-related crashes every 22 minutes. The risk of a crash in a 60 mph zone doubles with every 5 mph above the limit.The public needs to be more aware of the dangers of speeding. You can frequently watch ads for fast cars and ways to avoid police on the roads. The police and the community have expressed particular concern about the potential of these ads to influence the behavior of young drivers. The risk of being involved in a crash increases with the speed a vehicle is being driven because there is less time to react, les s control of the vehicle and the distance needed to stop is longer. The higher the speed a vehicle is travelling when it hits a pedestrian the greater the chance of a fatality occurring.The impact on a person in a crash at 60 mph is equivalent to falling from a four story building, while the impact at 100 mph equals falling from a 12-story building. Speeding has been implicated as a contributing factor in about one-third of all fatal motor-vehicle crashes. Speed reduces the amount of available time needed to avoid a crash, increases the likelihood of crashing and increases the severity of a crash once it occurs. Speeding is defined as travelling faster than the posted speed limit or travelling too fast for the road condition.Such as when it is raining, snowing, fog present, dust storm, ice on the road, or even bad visibility from the sun rising or setting. For example the speed limit might be 55 mph on a road but there is so much fog you can’t see but up to 20 feet in front o f you. In this situation you could either slow down to a safer speed or if it is bad enough pull off the side of the road and turn on you emergency flashers. Speeding is the number one law violation in fatal motor vehicle accidents and the average American is more likely to be involved in a traffic crash than be a victim of a crime.Those two facts put together make a strong argument on why you should not speed or drive an unsafe speed when road conditions are less than good. While you might be in a hurry if you get pulled over because of you excessive speed you will be even later than you would have if you were just driving the speed limit. Also you will probably be losing time and money in the near future. Speeding is one of the most common ways that people break the law. When people break the law there are unpleasant consequences. A speeding ticket is an effective form of discipline: paying for a ticket, traffic school, and higher insurance rates.Paying for a speeding ticket is an unpleasant experience. A ticket can be outrageously expensive depending on how fast you were speeding. Some states charge ten to twenty dollars per mile an hour over the speed limit. The officer assigns you a day to appear in court, if you choose to fight the ticket rather than pay the fine. Waiting in the courtroom to see the judge is a painful wait. The wait is long, and the company can be frightening. Once you plead your case, you generally end up paying the fine. This only leads to another line, and another wait.This has to be the most unpleasant part of a speeding ticket. In addition, paying for traffic school is also a disagreeable experience. If you waited to see the judge, you may be on your way after paying the fine. If the judge is kind, and offers a traffic school option, the unpleasantness continues. Usually the traffic school is nowhere near to the courthouse, which causes you to search to find it. The great experience of paying is close at hand after locating the scho ol. You must endure the nine hour course after paying for the privilege of attending.This is a class most people would have never taken if given the chance. The unpleasantness associated with a speeding ticket is almost finished when you have completed the course. It is like studying for your driver license all over again. A reoccurring reminder of a previous mistake is evident in higher insurance rates. Most insurance companies feel that speeding tickets make someone a higher risk. So, to offset the risk they raise the premium. Which means it is more expensive to obtain insurance. If the insurance company decides to raise your rates by only ten dollars it can have a lasting effect.When the ticket falls off your driving the record, usually in three to five years, you have spent more than one thousand dollars more than if you had not been speeding. The insurance company raises your rates with each ticket, until they cancel the policy. This alone makes it worthwhile to obey the law. A speeding ticket is an effective form of discipline, with court, with traffic school, and with higher insurance rates. The deterrents for speeding are not all outwardly noticeable until you has been through the process.Once you have a speeding ticket experience, you may be more careful to obey the law. If you choose to not pay the ticket or go to your assigned court date there are consequences such as additional fines, license suspension, and even impoundment. If you don't pay your speeding ticket, eventually your fine will increase. If you have more than one speeding ticket, costs can add-up quickly. In some places, it's possible to avoid fines entirely by going to traffic school. If money is a significant problem for you the court about working out a payment plans.You might be able to save some money and ongoing hassle by participating. In many places, the consequences of having one or more unpaid tickets are temporarily losing your license. While you can sometimes negotiate with the court to have some driving privileges, such as driving to work or taking your kids to school, your license will be useless until you pay up and meet any other requirements set by the court. Your unpaid speeding tickets can cost you your car, at least temporarily. Some cities will boot your car if you have several unpaid tickets on your record.Not only will you have to pay all your fines, but you'll also have to pay to have the boot removed. Even worse, the city may eventually tow your car, which means that you'll have to pay your fines, then get a ride to the tow yard and pay to get your car back. All of this because you didn’t pay your ticket by your court date or show up to court. Clearly speeding comes a lot of risk and dangers. Those risks and dangers include getting a ticket which is expensive and time consuming, increase your cost of insurance, put your life and others lives in danger, and above all it is against the law.

Critically evaluate McGregor’s Theroy X and Theory Y Essay

Critically evaluate McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. How far is it applicable to management and employee motivation in contemporary Chinese organizations? In the modern corporation environment, employees’ motivation plays a pivotal role, thus they should be recognised as a significant part of corporations’ financial assets. There are several distinct viewpoints of approaches to managerial strategies about motivating employees, one of which is McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. It proposes that providing an autonomous environment satisfying employees’ higher needs is more preferable than simply controlling them by rewards and punishment. This essay will firstly evaluate McGregor’s theory. Although influential value of this theory in organization history might be approved, there are two primary issues, invalidity and superficial recognition, which criticisms revolve around. Subsequently, this essay will discuss the extent of this theory’s application in Chinese organizations. Although McGregor’s theory may be employed in few corporations, this theory is generally not applicable in most contemporary Chinese organizations. Many theorists support that McGregor’s theory considers the field of management from a new angle, indicating a strong influential value. In contrast to the principles of conventional management mentioned as Theory X, the advocated Theory Y illuminated a cluster of new or redefined concepts such as self-fulfilling prophecy and responsibility. According to Carson (2005), some of those concepts had been interpreted before; however, McGregor’s theory combined those concepts emerging from separate theories. Based on these compiled conceptions, this theory takes higher-order needs into consideration, which innovatively introduces a profound work value that management should not only involve controlling and monitoring. Moreover, the inclination to responsibility of employees contributes to participative atmospheres in working environment. Lerner (2011) claims that McGregor’s theory can prepare employees’ skills to tackle complicated tasks due to their sense of responsibility, in parallel with improving the potential of an individual. Therefore, this theory, revealing an initial pattern of management strategy, dramatically influences the applied field of organization development. In spite of the influence and originality of McGregor’s theory, there is a primary drawback of the validity, which is regarding the assumption of human nature in this theory. This theory is primarily based on an analysis of  human nature. McGregor (2000) has pointed out that theory X management assumes that people generally are not responsible for work in contrast to theory Y assuming that people are invariably self-controlled. However, the theory X assumption is exaggeratedly negative while the theory Y assumption is overly optimistic. According to Bobic and Davis (2003), there is no evidence that systematically certifies the existence of individuals’ extreme attitudes towards work. Similarly, Francesco and Gold (2005) argued that human nature is not viewed purely positive or negative in all the cultures, drawing on Hofstede’s theory. Furthermore, different employees may have somewhat different characteristics; however, McGregor blended those sophisticated human natures into two simplistic models to introduce a quite deficient theory. Therefore, the theory seems to be invalid due to this relatively unrealistic and inadequate analysis. In addition to the invalid assumption of McGregor’s theory, there is another drawback concerning superficial recognition of autonomous environment and authority which are primary principles of Theory Y and Theory X respectively. McGregor (2000) state that autonomous environment can be acquired by opportunities for self-actualization. Nonetheless, Head (2011) has argued that incentives involving self-actualization are barely effective. Likewise, Bobic and Davis (2003) state that self-actualization is not a pragmatic motivational factor due to the rare opportunity provided by corporations in reality. Although some approaches such as job enrichment can be implemented, managers may not be totally competent to direct this management, which reveals that McGregor’s theory may overestimate the effectiveness of autonomous environment. Conversely, the model of authority representing Theory X may be a more frequently adopted management tool, which is the contrary to what is portrayed in the theory. Head (2011) pointed out authority rather than bureaucracy may offer legitimate power and guarantee development of corporations towards certain direction. In fact, offering appropriate guidance to subordinates and essentially avoiding overly vigorous control stand a significant position in most companies. Consequently, McGregor’s proposal that autonomous environment should be concentrated on while authority is obsolete may require reconsideration because of the superficial recognition. Motivational strategies have been considered as an essential concentration for corporations. With respect to the application of  McGregor’s theory in China, minimal successful instances may be seen in some extremely large conglomerates. Those conglomerates such as Shanghai’s corporations hire numerous workers, contributing to competition and pressure; therefore, employees in these organizations may emphasize higher-order needs because of this particular work circumstance, in accordance with the assumption of McGregor’s theory. Chan and Wyatt (2007) demonstrate that employees in Shanghai’s corporations can be significantly motivated by the satisfaction of self-esteem that is also emphasized in McGregor’s theory. Hence, it seems that this theory can reflect its feasibility in few large Chinese organizations. However, generally, McGregor’s theory reflects low practicability in most contemporary Chinese corporations. According to Alas (2005), most Chinese respondents are more likely to be encouraged by lower needs satisfaction such as incomes, whereas the dominant principle of McGregor’s theory is strategies satisfying higher needs. Therefore, Chinese employees’ concentration on lower needs makes it difficult for them to be motivated by McGregor’s theory. Moreover, Dessler (2006) argued that employee empowerment, one of the principles of McGregor’s theory, is excluded from Chinese corporations. Furthermore, McGregor’s theory is incompatible with the comparatively ingrained Confucian value system in Chinese culture. According to Geren (2011), an abandoned principle in the theory is obedience for authority which is the essence of Confucian value system. Chinese employees largely cultivated in the atmosphere of Confucian value may be uncomfortable with the management of McGregor’s theory. Emphasis on lower needs and the cultural of Confucian value system are both opposite to McGregor’s theory. Therefore, this theory is not applicable in most contemporary Chinese organizations. As a whole, McGregor’s theory may animate original spirit of motivation management; nevertheless, its invalidity is directly resulted from inadequate and unrealistic assumption of human nature. Additionally, excessively focusing on autonomous environment and ignoring efficiency of authority may indicate the superficial recognition in this theory. These two drawbacks can account for ineffective arrangement. As motivation management develops globally, in China, in spite of efficient application in few conglomerates, McGregor’s theory is not compatible with most Chinese organizations because general Chinese condition is the obstacle to successfully adopting this theory. There is no universal theory; hence, in order to improve the effectiveness of management, organizations should utilize distinct management principles flexibly in specific working circumstance. Word account: 1079 Reference List Alas, R. (2008) Attitudes and values in Chinese manufacturing companies: a comparison with Japanese, South Korean and Hong Kong companies. Chinese Management Studies. Vol. 2(1), pp.32-51 (PDF available) Bobic, M.P. & Davis, W.E. (2003) A Kind Word for Theory X: Or Why So Many Newfangled Management Techniques Quickly Fail. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Vol. 13(3), pp.239-264 (PDF available) Carson, C.M. (2005) A historical view of Douglas McGregor’s Theory Y. Management Decision. Vol. 43(3), pp.450-460 (PDF available) Chan, K.W. & Wyatt, T.A. (2007) Quality of Work Life: A Study of Employees in Shanghai, China. Asia Pacific Business Review. Vol. 13(4), pp.501-517 (PDF available) Dessler, G. (2006) Expanding into China? What foreign employers should know about human resource management in China today. SAM Advanced Management Journal. Vol.71(4), pp.11-24 (PDF available) Francesco, A.M. & Gold, B.A. (2005) International Organizational Behavior. 2nd ed. NJ, USA: Pearson Education (PDF available of relevant chapter) Geren, B. (2011) Motivation: Chinese theoretical Perspectives. Journal of Behavioural Studies in Business. Vol.3, pp.1-10 (PDF available) Head, T.C. (2011) Douglas McGregor’s legacy: lessons learned, lessons lost. Journal of Management History. Vol. 17(2), pp.202-216 (PDF available) Lerner, A. (2011) McGregor’s legacy: thoughts on what he left, what transpired, and what remains to pursue. Journal of Management History. Vol. 17(2), pp.217 – 237 (PDF available) McGregor, D. (2000) The Human Side of Enterprise. Reflections: The Society for Organizational Learning Journal. Vol. 2(1), pp.6-15. (PDF available)

How to Study Shakespeares Sonnet 73

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 is the third of four poems concerned with aging (Sonnets 71-74). It is also hailed as one of his most beautiful sonnets. The speaker in the poem suggests that his lover will love him more, the older he gets because his physical aging will remind him that he will die soon. Alternatively, he could be saying that if his lover can appreciate and love him in his decrepit state then his love must be enduring and strong. The Facts Sequence: Sonnet 73 is part of the Fair Youth SonnetsKey Themes: Ageing, mortality, enduring love, forthcoming death inspiring stronger love, seasons of lifeStyle: Sonnet 73 is written in iambic pentameter and follows the traditional sonnet form A Translation The poet addresses his lover and acknowledges that he is in the Autumn or Winter of his life and that he knows his lover can see that. He compares himself to a tree in the Autumn or Winter: â€Å"Upon those boughs which shake against the cold.† He explains that the sun (or life) in him is fading and night (or death) is taking over - he is aging. However, he knows his lover still sees a fire in him but suggests that it will go out or that he will be consumed by it. He knows his lover sees him getting older but believes it makes his love stronger because he knows that he will die soon so he will appreciate him while he is there. Analysis The sonnet is somewhat tragic in tone because it is based on wishful thinking: as I get older, I will be loved more. However, it could be saying that even though the lover can perceive his aging, he loves him regardless. The tree metaphor works beautifully in this case. It is evocative of the seasons and relates to the different stages of life. This is reminiscent of the â€Å"All the world’s a stage† speech from As You Like It. In Sonnet 18 the fair youth is famously compared to a summer’s day – we know then that he is younger and more vibrant than the poet and that this concerns him. Sonnet 73 contains many of the reoccurring themes in Shakespeare’s work concerning the effects of time and age on physical and mental wellbeing. The poem could also be compared to Sonnet 55 where monuments are â€Å"besmeared by sluttish time†. The metaphors and imagery are pungent in this evocative example of Shakespeare’s mastery.