It is our great honour to announce the third conference on the \;Eastern thought\, which will be organised on 28-30th November 2013 by \;the Eastern Philosophy Section of the Philosophy of Culture \;Department at the Jagiellonian University in Krakó\;w. This year&rsquo\;s \;meeting will be dedicated to the issues of sound\, language and book \;which\, although frequently featuring in contemporary Western thought\, \;are rarely and still insufficiently addressed through their long \;lasting reflection in the Eastern cultures. Continuing the tradition \;established by our two highly successful conferences held in 2009 and \;2011\, we would like to invite scholars who conduct research into \;cultures\, religions\, and philosophies of the East (India\, China\, \;Japan\, Tibet\, Korea\, and the Middle East)\, as well as those who are \;interested in the mutual influences between the East and the West.
Unquestionably\, language is one of the central themes in contemporary \;philosophical\, cognitive and cultural thought in the West. Having \;been researched from many different points of view\, language appears \;both as a logical tool\, a means of thinking or a medium of \;communication and as a creative factor within culture. Being a \;strictly human phenomenon\, language has always sparkled interest &ndash\; \;the Western civilisation is certainly not the first to explore it. \;Yet although it is broadly acknowledged that the Western linguistics \;owes its modern development to the Sanskrit grammarians\, in case of \;other aspects of language it seems that the Western thinkers prefer \;to reinvent the wheel rather than to ask the ancients. Our goal in \;this conference is to show all the richness of the speculations\, \;conceptions and solutions concerning language through various Eastern \;philosophies and cultures.
Sound
Starting at the same point where the Indian grammarians begin their \;science of language\, we will first address THE SOUND. Just as \;phonemes are the basis of language\, so the sound in general can be \;seen as one of the foundations of the phenomenal world. Thus we ask \;the following questions:
In the oral cultures &ndash\; such as the Vedic India - sound is very \;strongly connected with acquiring and passing the knowledge. How does \;it influence the conceptions of sound\, cognition\, and knowledge itself? In Chinese\, the term sheng or &lsquo\;sage&rsquo\; refers to the faculty of \;hearing\, whereas in Sanskrit\, the revealed knowledge is called śruti\, \;&lsquo\;heard&rsquo\;. Contrary to most of European languages\, the Eastern concept \;of &lsquo\;knowledge&rsquo\; does not refer to the faculty of seeing. What are the \;consequences of the relationship of knowledge to the sense of hearing?
Music
One of the exceptional sound types\, ineradicably present in the human \;world\, is MUSIC &ndash\; which\, although recognized universally by all the \;civilizations\, is nevertheless defined\, valued and practiced in many \;disparate ways. Let us consider the following problems in the field \;of music:
The Chinese culture and languages specialists know that one of the \;most striking factors influencing notions of sound in general and \;music in particular is the fact that Chinese languages are tonal. \;What is the impact of this fact on the development of music and its \;notions?
How can we describe the differences in musical paradigms? How does a \;culture condition the perception and creation of music? It is obvious \;that development of music followed different patterns in Europe and \;in Asia. In Europe the most important component was the structure of \;musical pieces\, which resulted in the development of polyphony and \;functional harmony in dur-moll system. In Asia the development of \;music followed different paths. Do the differences between the \;European and the Asian music result from differences in paradigms\, \;or\, as some Europeans maintain\, from the lack of any development in \;the music of the Far East?
Word
Another particularly human kind of sound is a WORD. All civilizations \;are\, in one or other way\, cultures of the word - be it oral or \;written. In this section of our conference we would like to consider \;human being as a verbal being and the human culture as a word-world.
Writing
An indispensable part of the reflection on word and language is the \;question of WRITING and written texts. Not only our civilisation - as \;based partly on Judeo-Christian religion - is a civilisation of the \;Book. Other cultures also consider books - and Books - as their point \;of reference. Let us consider various themes connected with writing:
There is no need to mention the well recognized difference between \;oral and written cultures. How does the attitude to writing influence \;various cultures\, their auto-definition\, hierarchies and identities? \;What significance for a culture has the fact of recognizing literary \;and demotic languages?
Language
The final section of the conference will focus on the main theme of \;our interest - the LANGUAGE. Surprisingly enough for the Western \;world\, philosophies of language existed in many cultures for long \;millennia. Yet we still do not benefit from them as much as they \;deserve it. Let us then reflect on the Eastern philosophies of \;language through the consideration of the following fields:
There is no registration fee. All participants are also invited to \;the Closing Dinner on Saturday the 30th of November.
The Organizers do not provide accommodation. However\, we will \;recommend some good places to stay in Krakó\;w. The relevant \;information will soon appear on our website.
For more information contact: \;malgorzata.ruchel@uj.edu.pl
Conference website: