The Centre is a collective project of philosophers, philologists, art historians, linguists and mathematicians for whom language is not only a medium but also a specific object of research. In a collaboration of three faculties, FF UK, MFF UK and FHS UK, this research systematically focuses on the comparison and interaction of different approaches to discursivity, from the understanding of language as an empirical phenomenon to its hermeneutic grasp as a medium of meaning and interpretation. The unifying feature of these approaches and, simultaneously, their presupposition, are considered gestural (embodied and interactive forms of language) and pictorial (material forms of language) aspects.
The solution period is 6 years. The Centre brings together approximately 17 junior researchers under the supervision of a team of 5 senior researchers.
Prof. Miroslav Petříček, Dr. (principal researcher, FF UK)
Prof. PhDr. Eva Voldřichová-Beránková, Ph.D. (FF UK)
Prof. PhDr. Vojtěch Kolman, Ph.D. (FF UK)
Prof. RNDr. Jaroslav Nešetřil, DrSc. (MFF UK)
Doc. Mgr. Josef Fulka, PhD. (FHS UK)
The professional goal of the project is to research different forms of discursivity, i.e. different answers to the question “what is language?”, and their interactions between philosophical, philological, artistic, linguistic and mathematical disciplines. This research will be coordinated through two core problem areas that form a thematic platform to which the juniors involved can relate, despite their different disciplinary focuses, and thus further stimulate their own professional research. These areas are given by the questions:
(1) In what sense is language to be understood as a lived and used phenomenon, i.e. in its performative, embodied and social forms, as opposed to its theoretical, conceptual and abstract forms?
(2) In what sense can the phenomenon of languaging be extended beyond “verbal” systems, i.e., why can we speak of language in cases of other forms of “representation” such as images, gestures, musical notation, etc.?
Against this background, a third area emerges as a key theme of the project, namely (3) clarifying the relationship between language and thinking. Our proposal is, after clarifying questions (1) and (2), to see thinking as an open-ended process in which the bearer of meaning can be not only a linguistic expression, but also a gesture, a diagram, a drawing or an image – and, depending on the context, anything that will be grasped as a “sign”. The reference to the material handling of signs (painting, writing, speaking) can then easily be replaced by phrases such as thinking on paper, thinking aloud, thinking in pictures, etc. These questions and the matter as a whole are relevant also in the context of the development of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in particular.
The practical aim of the project is to (a) support the professional growth of talented juniors by effectively integrating them into the international community, including publishing and project activities, and to (b) stimulate ways of their interdisciplinary collaboration.The chosen topic and the composition of the team have the prerequisites to achieve this goal, as they do not limit the juniors in their chosen diversity but rather motivate them to view their research from a different perspective.This will not only ensure a wider impact of a specific research, but will increase its competitiveness in the currently oversaturated “marketplace of ideas”. A supporting function of the project is (c) the support of talented PhD students who may become juniors after their habilitation, as well as the dissemination of the project results in teaching at high schools and universities.
The cooperation with MFF UK on a professional level allows to thematize the role of language in “abstract” disciplines and the interplay of its symbolic and iconic function. In addition to a specific approach to language, it brings very valuable and stimulating interdisciplinary stimuli. On the practical level, the cooperation aims at transferring good practice in the field of publishing and project work (Prof. Nešetřil is currently, among others, the ERC Synergy Grant researcher, the juniors involved are collaborating on highly competitive projects such as ERC, ANR, etc.). The involvement of MFF UK further builds on the already established cooperation with FF UK within the programme
PROGRES, sub-programme Q14 Crisis of Rationality. The specific cooperation between Prof. Nešetřil and Prof. Petříček in the field of relations between mathematics, philosophy and fine arts is also significant.
The cooperation with FHS UK on a professional level is oriented towards deepening the aesthetic and artistic aspects of linguistics, with special emphasis on the issue of gestural communication (see the work of doc. Fulka on the topic of gesture and his interdisciplinary collaboration with some juniors from the FF UK). At the same time, the Centre develops the already existing involvement of both faculties in the COOPERATIO project, a sub-programme of Philosophy. As confirmed by the international evaluation of UK science, FHS UK and FF UK represent two excellent research institutions in the field of Philosophy, especially with regard to the cutting-edge international publishing activities of the departments involved. The same has long been confirmed by the QS World University Rankings, where UK Philosophy ranks in the top 150, or top 100, ahead of most other disciplines at UK.
