Quantity VS Quality: Logical-Philosophical and Cognitive Bases of Interaction

Novosibirsk State Technical University Humanities Department 20 K. Marksa Pr. 630072 Novosibirsk, Russia

^* Corresponding author: fedyaeva@corp.nstu.ru

Abstract

The article discusses some interaction aspects of basic universal categories of quantity and quality. Within the logical-philosophical approach, the categories of quantity and quality reflect the objective aspects of existence and the reality objects relationship. This explains the significant correlation between these categories and language: different knowledge formats about the quantitative and qualitative side of being find their linguistic embodiment. Studying these categories interaction from the standpoint of human cognitive activity within anthropocentric linguistics and cognitive-discursive paradigm reveals some new potential for analysis which implies the possibility of qualitative characteristics interpretation of language units with quantitative meaning. The conclusions are: 1) both quality and quantity reflect the objects properties and characteristics, thus showing a close connection which enables the interpretation of quality via quantity; 2) ontologically motivated association of quantity and quality signifies that a language unit contains both explicit (quantitative) and potentially inferred implicit (qualitative) characteristics; 3) QUANTITY as a modus or evaluative concept is the result of the quantitative aspect of being comprehension and is capable to profile the qualitative characteristics of the reality objects; 4) the phenomenon of inference, acting as a ‘bridge’ between quantity and quality is a cognitive basis for the quantitative interpretation of quality.