A History of Language Philosophies

Lia Formigari
University of Rome, La Sapienza
Translated by Gabriel Poole
Theory and history combine in this book to form a coherent narrative of the debates on language and languages in the Western world, from ancient classic philosophy to the present, with a final glance at on-going discussions on language as a cognitive tool, on its bodily roots and philogenetic role.

An introductory chapter reviews the epistemological areas that converge into, or contribute to, language philosophy, and discusses their methods, relations, and goals. In this context, the status of language philosophy is discussed in its relation to the sciences and the arts of language. Each chapter is followed by a list of suggested readings that refer the reader to the final bibliography.

About the author: Lia Formigari, Professor Emeritus at University of Rome, La Sapienza. Her publications include: Language and Experience in XVIIth-century British Philosophy. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: J. Benjamins, 1988; Signs, Science and Politics. Philosophies of Language in Europe 1700–1830. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: J. Benjamins, 1993; La sémiotique empiriste face au kantisme. Liège: Mardaga, 1994.

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Table of Contents

Foreword
ix–x
1. A map of the area
1–14
2. Language, thought, and reality
15–38
3. A natural history of speech
39–55
4. Philosophy of language from Boethius to Locke
57–82
5. Language and philosophy from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment
83–128
6. Languages, peoples, and nations
129–147
7. Language and philosophy at the turn of the 19th century
149–188
8. Conclusion: A glance at on-going work
189–206
Bibliography
207–236
Author index
237–243
Subject index
245–250

Quotes

“Even at the structural level, this book instructs us. As anyone reading HL will know, the history of Western linguistic ideas has become un unmanageably vast field. [...] These chapters do not present a comprehensive history of linguistic thought during the period in question; nor could they. However, the discussion of each period is so well-directed that the reader will come away with the kind of insight into the intellectual history of the period that is nearly impossible to distill from the overwhelming wealth of information provided by the more comprehensive histories.”
Talbot J. Taylor, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, USA, in Historiographia Linguistica Vol. 34:2/3 (2007)
“[...] le lecteur ne peut quádmirer la montée en puissance des analyses de Lia Formigari, à travers une étonnante diversité d'auteurs, tout en restant, pour chacun d'entre eux, le temps nécessaire pour la compréhension de leur pensée.”
Jacques Guilhaumou, ENS/LSH, Lyon, in Histoire Épistémologie Langage, Vol. 28:1 (2006)

Subjects

Benjamins Subject classification

Philosophy

BIC Subject

HP: Philosophy

BISAC Subject

PHI000000: PHILOSOPHY / General
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  2004055092
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