Vienna Forum for Intercultural Philosophizing
At the latest after the so-called »translational turn« in Cultural Sciences one gets aware that translating is not just a philological transfer of meaning between different languages by which
one can open up foreign thought to understanding. Moreover it is a transfer between different cultures which are strongly interwoven with the various language structures. How do people think differently in languages without copula, how do they think differently (and why?) in languages that do not know our meaning of the grammatical categories of subject and predicate? Connected to this is the question of how to convey philosophical contents, texts and notions in a necessary depth in order to not only reveal the sense but also the hidden creative effort undertaken.
As it is well known, translations do not only serve the purpose to render any texts. They help to learn about unknown backgrounds, subjects and authors, show their reality of life and present it to a bigger audience. In this view they are absolutely necessary, but (the question of who translated what and for whom is rarely in the mind.) Are cultures translatable at all? Reflecting different philosophies of translation enlarges intercultural understanding by a deeper dimension which is rarely realized by current conceptions of intercultural communication. For in languages we have underlying metaphysical presuppositions of various world views the reflection
of which can help to improve understanding cultures in a better way.
WiGiP Wiener Gesellschaft für interkulturelle Philosophie
Vienna Forum for Intercultural Philosophizing.
The conference will give much space to common thought and questioning. Therefore short papers of the speakers will be sent to all participants beforehand.