Prabhakara
Encyclopedia
Prabhākara was an India
n philosopher grammarian in the Mimamsa
tradition. His views and his debate with led to the Prābhākara school within Mimamsa.
Commentaries on Prabhakara have been written by Shalikanatha in the 8th c.
other words (anvitābhidhāna, anvita = connected; abhidhā = denotation).
We know or learn the meaning of a word only by considering the sentential context n which it appears; we learn such word meanings together with their possible) semantic connections with other words.
Sentence meanings are grasped directly, from perceptual and contextual cues, skipping the stage of grasping singly the individual word meanings (Matilal 1990:108).
This is very similar to the modern view of linguistic underspecification
, and relates to the Dynamic Turn in Semantics, which opposes the purely compositional view of arriving at sentence meaning.
The prābhākaras were opposed by the , who argued for a compositional
view of semantics (called abhihitānvaya).
In this view, the meaning of a sentence was understood only after understanding first the meanings of individual words. Words were independent, complete objects, a view that is close to the Fodor
ian view of language.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n philosopher grammarian in the Mimamsa
Mimamsa
' , a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" , is the name of an astika school of Hindu philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas...
tradition. His views and his debate with led to the Prābhākara school within Mimamsa.
Commentaries on Prabhakara have been written by Shalikanatha in the 8th c.
Sentence vs Word meaning
One of the views of the prābhākaras is that words do not directly designate meaning; any meaning that arises is because it is connected withother words (anvitābhidhāna, anvita = connected; abhidhā = denotation).
We know or learn the meaning of a word only by considering the sentential context n which it appears; we learn such word meanings together with their possible) semantic connections with other words.
Sentence meanings are grasped directly, from perceptual and contextual cues, skipping the stage of grasping singly the individual word meanings (Matilal 1990:108).
This is very similar to the modern view of linguistic underspecification
Underspecification
In theoretical linguistics, underspecification is a phenomenon in which certain features are omitted in underlying representations. Restricted underspecification theory holds that features should only be underspecified if their values are predictable. For example, in English, all front vowels are...
, and relates to the Dynamic Turn in Semantics, which opposes the purely compositional view of arriving at sentence meaning.
The prābhākaras were opposed by the , who argued for a compositional
Principle of compositionality
In mathematics, semantics, and philosophy of language, the Principle of Compositionality is the principle that the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its constituent expressions and the rules used to combine them. This principle is also called Frege's Principle,...
view of semantics (called abhihitānvaya).
In this view, the meaning of a sentence was understood only after understanding first the meanings of individual words. Words were independent, complete objects, a view that is close to the Fodor
Jerry Fodor
Jerry Alan Fodor is an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. He holds the position of State of New Jersey Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and is the author of many works in the fields of philosophy of mind and cognitive science, in which he has laid the groundwork for the...
ian view of language.