The term trope is both a term which denotes figurative and metaphorical language and one which has been used in various technical senses. It comes from the Greek τροπή (tropē), "a turn, a change" and that from τρέπω (trepō), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change". Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly This means that the term is used metaphorically to denote, among other things, metaphorical language. Perhaps the term can be explained as meaning the same thing as a turn of phrase in its original sense.
The term is also used in technical senses, which do not always correspond to its linguistic origin. Its meaning has to be judged from the context, some of which are given below.
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Basic meaning as metaphor
Here a trope is a figurative and metaphorical use of a word or a phrase. The verb to trope means then to make a trope.
In philosophy of history
The use of tropes has been extended from a linguistic usage to the field of philosophy of history by, among other theorists, Hayden White in his Metahistory (1973). Philosophy of history or historiosophy is an area of Philosophy concerning the eventual significance if any of human History. Philosophy of history or historiosophy is an area of Philosophy concerning the eventual significance if any of human History. Hayden White (born 1928 is an Historian in the tradition of Literary criticism, perhaps most famous for his work Metahistory The Historical Imagination Tropes are generally understood to be styles of discourse — rather than figures of style — underlying the historian's writing of history. Discourse (L discursus, "running to and from" means either "written or spoken communication or debate" or "a formal discussion They are historically determined in as much as the historiography of every period is defined by a specific type of trope.
For Hayden White, tropes historically unfolded in this sequence: metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and finally, irony. Hayden White (born 1928 is an Historian in the tradition of Literary criticism, perhaps most famous for his work Metahistory The Historical Imagination Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects In Rhetoric, metonymy (mɨˈtɒnɨmi is the use of a word for a concept or object associated with the concept/object originally denoted by the word Synecdoche is taken from Greek sinekdohi (συνεκδοχή meaning "simultaneous understanding" (si-nek-duh-kee (pronounced /sɪˈnɛkdoˌki/ Irony is a literary or Rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or Discordance between what one says or does and what one means or
Trope theory in philosophy (metaphysics)
- See also: Nominalism#Varieties of nominalism
Trope theory in metaphysics is a flavor of nominalism. Nominalism is a metaphysical view in Philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals Nominalism is a metaphysical view in Philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals Here, a trope is a particular instance of a property, like the specific redness of a rose, or the specific nuance of green of a leaf. Trope theories assume that universals are unnecessary. In Metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common namely characteristics or qualities This use of the term goes back to D. C. Williams (1953). The basic problem has been discussed previously in philosophy without using the term trope. The following is a brief background:
The basic problem is the problem of universals. The problem of universals is an ancient problem in Metaphysics about whether universals exist One part of the problem of universals is determining what it is for two tokens (or separate instances of something) to be of the same type. How can different things be the same? The arguments are complex, and involve semantics, metaphysics and epistemology. Semantics is the study of meaning in communication The word derives from Greek σημαντικός ( semantikos) "significant" from Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Part of the problem would be determining what it is for six different green objects to all be the same in respect to their color.
One classical solution is that of realism as found in the middle period of Plato's philosophy, with The Republic as a crowning work. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece According to this solution there are ideas or forms for any property. iDeaS is a Nintendo DS Emulator for Microsoft Windows and Linux, using GTK+. Plato 's Theory of Forms asserts that Forms (or Ideas) and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess These forms exist timelessly as singular, perfect individuals in a metaphysical (timeless, supra-sensible) world of their own. They correspond to what is later called universals. In Metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common namely characteristics or qualities Somehow the form of a specific color creates many secondary images of itself, as when a prototype is used to make copies or an object casts several shadows. Expressed more abstractly the individual colour-instances (the green of this leaf, the similar green of this frog) all partake in the same idea of green. In Plato the theory of forms is related to his theses about innate knowledge. Plato 's Theory of Forms asserts that Forms (or Ideas) and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess In Phaedo the turn of the argument is that we cannot learn from experience what similarity is through abstraction, but must possess it in an innate form before we have any experience (Phaedo 74a-75d). Plato 's Phaedo (ˈfiːdoʊ Greek: Φαίδων, Phaidon) is one of the great Dialogues of his middle period along with --> Abstraction is the process or result of generalization by reducing the information
Nevertheless Plato in the Parmenides dialogue himself formulated several problems for his view. Parmenides of Elea ( Greek:, early 5th century BC was an Ancient Greek Philosopher born in Elea, a Greek city on the southern coast of One is: How can the idea, being single, nevertheless be present in a multitude of separate instances without being split apart.
The other solution is that of nominalism. Nominalism is a metaphysical view in Philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals Here the thesis that universals such as the ideas or forms of Plato are unnecessary in an explanation of language, thought and the world. An idea is a form (such as a Thought) formed by Consciousness (including Mind) through the Process of ideation. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Only single individuals are real, but they can be grouped together by a human observer through their similarities. Nominalists are usually empiricists. In Philosophy, empiricism is a theory of Knowledge which asserts that knowledge arises from Experience. Berkeley, for example, argued against universals or abstract objects using nominalistic arguments. George Berkeley (ˈbɑrkli (12 March 1685 14 January 1753 also known as Bishop Berkeley, was a Philosopher. In Metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common namely characteristics or qualities For other uses see Abstract In Philosophy it is commonly considered that every object is either abstract or concrete He used the term idea to denote specific perceptions of an atomistic nature. An idea is a form (such as a Thought) formed by Consciousness (including Mind) through the Process of ideation. They could be grouped through similarities or one could take a specific instance, for example the green hue of this frog one is looking at now, as a kind of paradigm case or prototype, and regard everything that was similar to it as belonging to the same type or category. One attraction of the nominalistic program is that if it can be carried out it solves Plato's problem in Parmenides, since the need for a single idea or form or universal green then vanishes and it can be expunged through Occam's razor, i. Parmenides of Elea ( Greek:, early 5th century BC was an Ancient Greek Philosopher born in Elea, a Greek city on the southern coast of Occam's razor (sometimes spelled Ockham's razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English Logician and Franciscan Friar, e. the rule that one should always prefer the simplest theory or account of anything.
In Problems of Philosophy (1912, chapter IX) Bertrand Russell argued against Berkeley and took the same basic position as Plato. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian His argument was basically one against any form of nominalism. Nominalism is a metaphysical view in Philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals It says, briefly, that if we introduce several instances of green as separate individuals, we nevertheless have to accept that the reason that we group them together is because they are similar. Therefore we must presume at least one true universal, that of similarity.
Two popular recent solutions to the problem of universals, as it relates to the possibility of entities existing in multiple locations at the same time, are as follows.
David Armstrong, a well known Australian philosopher, argues, like Russell and the middle Plato, that there are instantiated universals. David Armstrong may refer to David Armstrong (English footballer (b Briefly, an instantiated universal is a property (such as being green) that can exist in multiple locations at the same time. Going back to the problem of universals, for six different objects to all be green would be for each object to instantiate the universal green. The very same, identical universal green would be wholly located at each green object. To be even more specific, if a frog and a leaf are the same shade of green, the green of the frog and the green of the leaf are one and the same entity, which happens to be multiply located.
Keith Campbell and Michael LaBossiere, among others, reject instantiated universals in favor of tropes. Keith Campbell may refer to Keith Campbell (ice hockey (born 1909 Canadian Keith Campbell (motorcyclist (born 1931 Australian Briefly, a trope is a property (such as being green) that can only exist in one location at one time. Trope theorists explain what it is for two tokens (individual instances) to be of the same type in terms of resemblance. As an example, for six different objects to all be green would be for each object to have its own distinct green trope. Each green trope would be a different entity from the other green tropes, but they would resemble each other and would all be taken to be green because of their resemblance.
See also
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