Davidson's causal theory of meaning is known as one of the main criticisms of Kuhn's theory of incommensurability. In this essay, first I would present briefly the theory of incommensurability according to the first edition of structure of scientific revolutions and its modifications in the second edition. Then, I would elaborate Davidson's arguments against it in detail, showing that from a radical interpreter's point of view this theory requires unreasonable semantic consequences. In the third section, I would try to defend Kuhn's theory by borrowing reasons from Howard Sankey, one his famous commentators. He criticizes Davidson's semantic arguments by showing that dependence of interpretation on translation, Davison's main assumption, is unacceptable. Last of all, I would argue that incommensurability and radical interpretation both are depended on charity principle, providing hope for a reconciliation between them, on the condition that Davidson's unnecessary assumption is removed.
Baldino, Anthony D. (2007) âIncommensurability and Interpretationâ, Sorites (ΣÏÏίÏηÏ) (19) pp. 79 - 87.
Davidson, Donald (1973) âRadical Interpretationâ in Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (1984 ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1974) âOn the very Idea of a Conceptual Schemeâ in Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (1984 ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1983) âA Coherence Theory of Truth and Knowledgeâ, in Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective (2001 ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Feyerabend, Paul (1987) Farewell to Reason, London: Verso.
Grube, Dirk Ù Martin (2013) âInterpreting Kuhnâs Incommensurability Ù Thesis: Its Different Meanings and Epistemological Consequencesâ, Philosophy Study, 377-Ù 397.
Hoyningen Ù Huene, Paul (1993) Reconstructing Scientific Revolutions, Thomas S. Kuhnâs Philosophy of Science, Trans. A. T. Levine, Chicago/London: The University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press.
Kuhn, T. S. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1996 third ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
_________ (1977) The Essential Tension, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1976) âTheory Ù change as Structure Ù changeâ in The Road since Structure (2000 ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1979) âMetaphor in Scienceâ in The Road since Structure (2000 ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1981) âWhat are Scientific Revolutions?â in The Road since Structure (2000 ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1983) âCommensurability, Comparability, Communicabilityâ, in The Road since Structure (2000 ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1989) âPossible Worlds in History of Scienceâ, in The Road since Structure (2000 ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1990) âDubbing and Redubbing: The Vulnerability of Rigid Designationâ in Scientific Theoriesâ in Scientific Theories ed. C. W. Savage, Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 14 (Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press, 1990), pp. 300-318.
Putnam, Hilary (1981) Reason, Truth and History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Quine, Willard von Orman (1960) Word and Object, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ (1969) âOntological Relativityâ, in Ontological Relativity and Other Essays, New York: Columbia UP.
Sankey, Howard (1990) âIn Defence of Untranslatabilityâ, Australian Journal of Philosophy, (68), 1-21.
Scheffler, Israel (1967) Science and Subjectivity, Indianapolis: Bobbs Ù-Merril.