EL LENGUAJE EN PLATÓN Y PROTÁGORAS. LA CRÍTICA PLATÓNICA DEL CONVENCIONALISMO

Resumen

In the Cratylus, Plato presents two fundamental theses about language: the «naturalist» position defended by Cratylus and the conventionalist one defended by Hermogenes. In accordance with the «naturalist» thesis, words signify, by nature, things in their peculiar nature. As for the conventionalist position, it is argued that words only signify things by means of arbitrary conventions. In particuliar, this position tackles in particular the issue of the truth of language (from the point of view of the Platonic lógos). In order to defend this thesis, Hermogenes claims to follow Protagoras' ontological position, according to which the truth of things is based essentially on individual points of view. In the same vein, the truth of words depends on every human conventionalist aim. The Socratic-Platonic theory of language will then be based finally on the synthesis of naturalism and conventionalism by means of the apophantical lógos. This implies taking into account on the one hand the nature of things themselves (their essence) and, on the other hand, the necessity to master a savoir-faire (tekhné) appropriate for designing language in such a way that it is able to express precisely the essence of the aimed thing.