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 semiotique empiriste face au kantisme." Liege: Mardaga, 1994. (shrink)

The focus of this volume is the crisis of the traditional view of the relationship between words and things and the emergence of linguistic arbitrarism in 17th ...

Ideologie et langage en Italie (L. Formigari) The author notes the influence of the Ideologists, after that of Condillac, on linguistic studies in Italy, in spite of the suspicion aroused by the materalist views that are supposed to accompany their philosophical positions. As early as 1796, there appears a trend of thought close to Ideology, which aims at theorizing on the relationship between language, society and culture. This was a fundamental problem for a country that had not yet found its (...) linguistic or political unity. The substantial bibliography in this article brings up numerous points concerning research on the influence of the Ideologists. (shrink)