Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz was a Polish
philosopher and logician, a prominent figure in the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic
. He originated many novel ideas in semiotics
, including the "categorial grammar
" used by many formal linguists. Ajdukiewicz fields of research were scientific methodology and logical theory of science
.
Ajdukiewicz studied at the University of Lwow, and lectured there, in Warsaw and in Poznan. He was Rector of the University of Poznan Between 1948 and 1952. He was one the founders of the journal Studia Logica
in his current incarnation, editing it from 1953 to his death.
In his early epistemological system, which he called Radical Conventionalism, Ajdukiewicz analyzed any language
as a set of expressions or sentences, with inferential rules of meaning that specify the relation of one expression to another, or to external data. There are three kinds of rules: Axiomatic, Deductive, and Empirical. Following the rules, one can map all knowable sentences of a language. However, some languages' vocabularies can produce disconnected sentences, which are only partly mapped by the meaning rules. Therefore, when one uses a language, even scientific one, a conceptual apparatus, an untranslatable set of meanings, is needed too, and with it a choice of the problems to be settled. For this reason the theory is a form of Conventionalism
, and it is radical because even simple experiential reports are exposed to these language-wide considerations. Ajdukiewicz discarded this theory as the 1930s progressed.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
philosopher and logician, a prominent figure in the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic
Lwów–Warsaw School of Logic
The Lwów–Warsaw School of Logic was headed by Kazimierz Twardowski, who had been a student of Franz Brentano and is regarded as the "father of Polish logic."-History:...
. He originated many novel ideas in semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
, including the "categorial grammar
Categorial grammar
Categorial grammar is a term used for a family of formalisms in natural language syntax motivated by the principle of compositionality and organized according to the view that syntactic constituents should generally combine as functions or according to a function-argument relationship...
" used by many formal linguists. Ajdukiewicz fields of research were scientific methodology and logical theory of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
.
Ajdukiewicz studied at the University of Lwow, and lectured there, in Warsaw and in Poznan. He was Rector of the University of Poznan Between 1948 and 1952. He was one the founders of the journal Studia Logica
Studia Logica
Studia Logica is an international journal of mathematics and logic. The scope of the journal is all scientific disciplines, however the main criterion for publication is not the scope of the submission, but rather the use of formal methods...
in his current incarnation, editing it from 1953 to his death.
In his early epistemological system, which he called Radical Conventionalism, Ajdukiewicz analyzed any language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
as a set of expressions or sentences, with inferential rules of meaning that specify the relation of one expression to another, or to external data. There are three kinds of rules: Axiomatic, Deductive, and Empirical. Following the rules, one can map all knowable sentences of a language. However, some languages' vocabularies can produce disconnected sentences, which are only partly mapped by the meaning rules. Therefore, when one uses a language, even scientific one, a conceptual apparatus, an untranslatable set of meanings, is needed too, and with it a choice of the problems to be settled. For this reason the theory is a form of Conventionalism
Conventionalism
Conventionalism is the philosophical attitude that fundamental principles of a certain kind are grounded on agreements in society, rather than on external reality...
, and it is radical because even simple experiential reports are exposed to these language-wide considerations. Ajdukiewicz discarded this theory as the 1930s progressed.
Works
- 1921 "Z metodologii nauk dedukcyjnych"
- 1923 "Główne kierunki filozofii"
- 1928 "Główne zasady metodologii nauk i logiki formalnej"
- 1931 "O znaczeniu wyrażeń"
- 1934 "Logiczne podstawy nauczania"
- 1938 "Propedeutyka filozofii"
- 1948 "Epistemologia i semantyka"
- 1949 "Zagadnienia i kierunki filozofii"
- 1952 "Zarys logiki"
- 1964 "Zagadnienia empiryzmu a koncepcja znaczenia"
- 1965 "Logika pragmatyczna"
- 1960-1965 "Język i poznanie. Wybór pism"
- 1966- Selected articles in "Logiczna Teoria Nauki" ( Logical Theory of Science) Ed. T.Pawłowski, Printed PWN, Warszawa.
External links
- Polish Philosophy Page: Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz
- Lwów–Warsaw school of logic], at the Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a freely-accessible online encyclopedia of philosophy maintained by Stanford University. Each entry is written and maintained by an expert in the field, including professors from over 65 academic institutions worldwide...
. Sections on Categorial Grammar and Radical Conventionalism.