The linking together that occurs when we reason … is not a linking of names but of the things that are signified by the names, and I am surprised that the opposite view should occur to anyone. Who doubts that a Frenchman and a German can reason about the same things, despite the fact that the words that they think of are completely different? And surely the philosopher refutes his own position when he talks of the arbitrary conventions that we have laid down concerning the meaning of words. For if he admits that the words signify something, why will he not allow that our reasoning deals with this something which is signified, rather than merely with the words?–René Descartes (1641/1984, p. 126)

中文翻译：

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吉姆·贾木许电影哲学的可用性：鬼狗中的维特根斯坦、德里达和私人语言：武士之路

当我们推理时发生的联系……不是名称的联系，而是名称所表示的事物的联系，我很惊讶任何人都会有相反的观点。谁怀疑法国人和德国人可以推理相同的事情，尽管他们想到的词完全不同？当哲学家谈到我们已经制定的关于词义的武断惯例时，他肯定会反驳他自己的立场。因为如果他承认词意指某物，他为什么不允许我们的推理处理这个被意指的东西，而不仅仅是词句呢？——勒内·笛卡尔（1641/1984，第 126 页）