On Interpreting "Established By Popular Usage"

"Established by popular usage" comes from Xunzi's article of "rectifying name". In the article, Xunzi pointed out: "The name of the thing is not suitable one originally, later on,it becomes suitable name because of people's aggreeing on and the popular usage.The name ,which is different from the appointed name is the improper one. Name doesn't represent certain thing originally, later on, it can represent centain thing because of people's aggreeing on and the popular usage." This is a penetrating conclusion about the relation between"name"and "reality"that Xunzi put forward on the basis of the various schools of thinkers' debating in the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods. This conclusion exerts a far-reaching influence on linguistics in later age, and is regarded as classics and criterion about explaining the relation of "name"and "reality" by the language educational circles of our country. It's interesting that there was a similar discussion aboutnname"and"reality"among the ancient Greek philosophers in the 5-3rd century B.C. The philosophers had the same opinion as"established by popular usage".The theory,"established by usage ", has been announced to explain the relation between"name"and"reality"correctly under the initial state. This theory tells us, at first, the relation between"name"and "reality"is established on the basis of people's "agreeing on"and is eccepted gradually in the course of social communication. There isnot essential connection between"name"and"reality";Secondly, once the relation of them is established, it will be compulsory and any individual can't change it at will. More than 2000 years ago, the Chinese scholar had so profound a theory about the relation of "reality"and"name", and it is good that no matter how we speak highly of it. However, while speaking highly of the theory, I find the shortcoming of it. First of all, the advocate of "established by popular usage" does not tell people where "name" and "reality" is connected, is it in people's internal world or in the external objective world? Secondly, under the initial state, how do Social members agree on the relation of "name"and"reality"? Thirdly, under the post-language state, in most cases, people just find the changes of the relation, but how does it change? we are unable to find the answers to the above questions from "established by popular usage",and these are exactly the questions that I try to explore in the article.It is obvious that there is no relation between "sound"and "things"in the external objective world. We can infer that"name"and "reality" don't exist in the external objective world and two exist in people's internal world only. "Sound" and "things" in the external objective world enter people's internal world through various kinds of sense organs of people. In people's internal world, "name" is an image of the sound -image of the sound and "reality" is the image of objective things -consciousness content .They can only be agreed on in people's intennal world.Under the initial state, in the realistic work scene, working members have to communicate because they need other members' cooperation in a certain working corporation. At this time,any sound that members send out will affect other working members' consciousness focus directly. Because of the common realistic communication scence, all the people's consciousness content that their consciousness focus point to are the same or roughly the same, so in all the working member's internal world, the consciousness content and the image of sound will be connected immediately.In the realistic environment, the course in which "name" and "realitynare connected is the one in which the two are agreed on initially. During the lasting communication, with the course going on, the relation of the two is strengthened, "name" and "reality "will break away from the realistic communication environment and operate independently in people's internal world. This kind of state is easy to be understood when we break away from the realistic scene and express and understand th...