Is 'the First Person' a linguistic concept essentially?
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- dc.contributor.author Hinzen, Wolframca
- dc.contributor.author Schroeder, Kristenca
- dc.date.accessioned 2017-09-26T12:26:22Z
- dc.date.available 2017-09-26T12:26:22Z
- dc.date.issued 2015
- dc.description.abstract The notion of 'the first person' is centrally invoked in philosophical discussions of selfhood, subjectivity, and personhood. We ask whether this notion, as invoked in these discussions, is con-tingently or essentially a grammatical term. While it is logically possible that the linguistic dimensions of self-reference are accidental to this phenomenon, we argue that no explications of such phenomena as 'reference de se' or 'essential indexicality' in non-grammatical terms has been or likely can be provided, since grammatical factors uniquely co-vary with the forms of self-reference in question. The role of grammar is reinforced by the fact that species-specific forms of reference are never purely lexical and always have a structural signature involving specific grammatical configurations; and by findings that in cognitive disorders independently characterized as disorders of selfhood, such as autism spectrum conditions, the pronominal system proves to be a particular locus of vulnerability. We conclude that grammar and human-specific forms of selfhood form an inextricable unity, inviting renewed attention to language as a constitutive condition of personhood in at least some of its forms.
- dc.format.mimetype application/pdfca
- dc.identifier.citation Hinzen W, Schroeder K. Is 'the First Person' a linguistic concept essentially?. Journal of Consciousness Studies. 2015; 22(11-12):149-79.
- dc.identifier.issn 1355-8250
- dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/32801
- dc.language.iso eng
- dc.publisher Imprint Academicca
- dc.relation.ispartof Journal of Consciousness Studies. 2015; 22(11-12):149-79.
- dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
- dc.title Is 'the First Person' a linguistic concept essentially?ca
- dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
- dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion