Modernism and the Language of Philosophy (Routledge Studies in Twentieth-Century Philosophy)

Modernism can be characterized by the acute attention it gives to language, to its potential and its limitations. Philosophers, artists and literary critics who worked in the first third of the twentieth century, on the one hand emphasized language's creative potential, but on the other, its impotence in conveying what was aimed at. In particular, modernists shared the belief that philosophical language was at a loss; that the kind of truth sub specie aeterni that was sought by philosophers is either meaningless or is more appropriately expressed by the arts - especially by literature and poetry. Modernism and the Language of Philosophy addresses the challenge this belief posed to philosophy, arguing that the modernist assumption rests upon a host of unacknowledged, repressed or denied dogmas or tacit images. Anat Matar begins by investigating the ideas that bring out this crisis in philosophical language, through examining the relevant views of the early Wittgenstein, Carnap and Artaud. The book goes on to look at the roots of the modernist crisis, focusing on Frege and Husserl's innovative ideas and analyzing the inner tensions in this pre-modern era. A contemporary solution is explored drawing on the work of Michale Dummett and Jacques Derrida. These two philosophers drive the narrative of Modernism and the Language of Philosophy and serve as spectacles through which both past and present day philosophers are looked at. Through the perspectives of Dummett and Derrida a dialogue is formed between the two philosophical traditions of the twentieth century - analytic and continental - and Matar shows that the dynamics of thought about language, philosophy and philosophical language in these traditions cannot be detached from one another. Modernism can be characterised by the acute attention it gives to language, to its potential and its limitations. Philosophers, artists and literary critics working in the first third of the twentieth century emphasized language's creative potential, but also stressed its inability to express meaning completely and accurately. In particular, modernists shared the belief that the kind of truth sub specie aeterni that was sought by philosophers was either meaningless or was more appropriately expressed by the arts – especially by literature and poetry. Modernism and the Language of Philosophy addresses the challenge this belief presented to philosophy, and argues that the modernist assumption rests upon a host of unacknowledged, repressed or denied dogmas or tacit images. Drawing in particular upon the work of Michale Dummett and Jacques Derrida, this book explores a new solution to this crisis in philosophical language, and it is these two philosophers who drive the narrative of the book and offer perspectives through which both past and present day philosophers are examined. Book cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Series-Title......Page 3 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Dedication......Page 8 Contents......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 Abbreviations......Page 18 1 Introduction......Page 20 Part I Acting, not speaking......Page 30 1 Wittgenstein's Tractatus......Page 32 2 Carnap......Page 46 3 Artaud......Page 64 Part II Pre-modernism......Page 80 4 ' The way in which logic uses ideas '......Page 82 5 Sense and reference?......Page 87 6 The apparent primacy of language......Page 98 7 Leaving psychologism out......Page 104 8 ' Determining the logos from logic '......Page 109 Part III Modernism aufgehoben......Page 124 9 Representation and presentationin the present......Page 126 10 Dummett......Page 130 11 Derrida......Page 155 Epilogue......Page 185 Notes......Page 194 Bibliography......Page 203 Index......Page 208 "Modernism can be characterised by the acute attention it gives to language, to its potential and its limitations. Philosophers, artists and literary critics who worked in the first third of the twentieth century, on the one hand emphasised language's creative potential, but on the other, its impotence in conveying what was aimed at. In particular, modernists shared the belief that philosophical language was at a loss; that the kind of truth sub specie aeterni that was sought by philosophers is either meaningless or is more appropriately expressed by the arts - especially by literature and poetry Arguing that the modernist assumption rests upon unacknowledged, repressed or denied dogmas or tacit images and drawing in particular upon the work of Michale Dummett and Jacques Derrida, this book explores a solution to the crisis in philosophical language and offers perspectives through which philosophers are examined.