Abstract
Paul Ricoeur in his essay The Paradigm of Translation, presents an understanding of translation that is found between two positions that are irreconcilable. These two positions represent on the one hand, the difference that exists between languages and on the other hand, the common ground that languages must have for them to be translatable into one another. Following Ricoeur’s paradigm, the thesis will aim to unpack an understanding of translation as a tension that occurs between its theoretical impossibility and the reality of its everyday practice. The theoretical impossibility of translation lies in the fact that for one language to be translatable into another, there needs to be an a priori common ground, which cannot be clearly established. The everyday practice of it, on the other hand, suggests that translations are made all the time without the need for a theoretical framework. I will begin by establishing what is meant by translation by drawing on Walter Benjamin’s description of translation as a life form and as a work of art. I will then draw on Jacques Derrida’s quasi-concept of difference at the origin to explain translation in theory.
School
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
Philosophy Department
Degree Name
MA in Philosophy
Graduation Date
Spring 5-31-2021
Submission Date
5-24-2021
First Advisor
Steffen Stelzer
Committee Member 1
Richard Fincham
Committee Member 2
Alessandro Topa
Extent
41 p.
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
Not necessary for this item
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Barrada, H.
(2021).Translation in and of Philosophy [Master's Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1624
MLA Citation
Barrada, Hussein. Translation in and of Philosophy. 2021. American University in Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1624
Included in
Continental Philosophy Commons, Epistemology Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Metaphysics Commons, Philosophy of Language Commons