Re: brief survey

Trent wrote:
> 1) Do you consider yourself a linguist?
Yeah.  I'm not making money doing it yet, but presumably I will
in a few years.

> 2) Given only the following labels, which best describes linguistics
> as a discipline for you? (a) a scientific discipline  (b)  a philosophical
> discipline.
I think the answer to this question depends on what notion of
science you adhere to, and foremost what place falsification
plays in scientific endeavors.  Overall, I'd say it's a science,
but it bleeds easily into purely humanistic studies.

> 3) Given only the following definitions, which comes closest to
> describing the purpose of linguistics for you?  (a) learning to speak many
> languages.  (b) learning the structures of languages.  (c) learning how
> language works in the human mind.  (d) defining and cataloging languages.
> (e) defining language at large. (e) the humanistic study of language and
> literature.
Chomsky would probably say (b) with a view toward understanding (c).
Not sure what (e) would entail, maybe a little (d) and (f) (=second (e))
but definitely not (a)

> 4) Do you consider yourself a scientist?
I'd say yes, since I place a higher value on falsification and
empirical data than many linguists.

> 5) Given only the following definitions, which comes closest to
> describing the purpose of science for you?  (a) the search for truth. (b)
> use of the scientific method to create theories by proving or disproving
> hypotheses (c) the process of discovering natural laws.
(b) is certainly not the purpose of science; it is only its methodology.
As there are many things that one may claim to be true, but are not really
subject to empirical testing, I'd say (c).

> 6) Do you consider yourself a philosopher?
Not really.  Not in my faculty as a linguist, at any rate.

> 7) Given only the following definitions, which comes closest to
> describing the purpose of philosophy for you?  (a) the search for truth.
> (b) the pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
> (c) the study of the nature of reality based on logical reasoning rather
> than empirical methods. (d) a critical analysis of fundamental assumptions
> or beliefs. (e) a discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics,
> metaphysics, and epistemology.
Philosophy I think has come to be winnowed down to all those things
that have not formed their own separate fields of endeavor, like physics,
chemistry, or biology (all used to be called 'natural philosophy').  The
fields in (e) are just the most salient parts of what's left, in part
because that's what people in academic departments with that name often
study.  (a) is broadly an accurate characterization, but I think (d) is
more insightful.

 =========================================================================
Thomas Wier	       "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
Dept. of Linguistics    because our secret police don't get it right
University of Chicago   half the time." -- octogenarian Sheikh Zayed of
1010 E. 59th Street     Abu Dhabi, to a French reporter.
Chicago, IL 60637