Translation: a ‘dark secret' of philosophy?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In his 1998 book entitled The Scandals of Translation, Lawrence Venuti makes a seemingly simple claim: he states that translation is a ‘dark secret’ of philosophy. Since this time, and as interest has grown in the relation between translation studies and philosophy, Venuti’s assertion has caught the attention of readers and writers. When the passage is quoted, it appears to be taken at face value, almost as a truism. However, Venuti’s contention is neither as simple nor as straightforward as it might seem, and it has significant implications. In fact, it is quite complex. More importantly, it is based on a justification which is rarely, if ever, discussed, and which relies on the concept of ‘remainder’ developed by the French linguist Jean-Jacques Lecrecle. The aim of the present work, then, is twofold. First of all, we propose to subject Venuti’s entire claim, including the justification he gives for it, to critical analysis, in order to determine how it stands up to scrutiny. Secondly, by doing so, we will bring some clarification to the relation between philosophy and translation, and reveal how, in the final analysis, the very nature of philosophical language might guide us towards different conclusions.