In this bold new book, Jim Vernon develops the general theory of
language implicitly contained in the writings of G.W.F. Hegel. Vernon
offers novel readings of Hegel's central works in order to explain his
views on some long neglected topics and as such demonstrates that his
accounts of representation, the concept and the speculative sentence
can be used to create sophisticated theories of language acquisition,
universal grammar and linguistic practice. Hegel's defence of a
scientific philosophy that is necessary and universal seems to
eliminate the need for a philosophical linguistics. Since thought is
demonstrably objective in itself, questions about the language through
which it is expressed appear to be external to philosophy. This has
caused many commentators to neglect the real problems that the
historical and cultural associations of language pose for the adequate
expression of universal thought. Others, exploiting this apparent
inadequacy, have argued that the lack of rigorous linguistic analysis
in Hegel's philosophy is its greatest, and perhaps fatal, flaw.
Although the very idea of a Hegelian linguistics is controversial,
this book argues that there are resources within the texts of Hegel
for developing a general theory of language as the reciprocal
grounding of a universal grammatical form and a particular lexical
content. Moreover, it uses this theory to resolve the apparent tension
between the necessity of Hegelian philosophy and the contingency of
its linguistic expression. In the light of Hegel's critical relation
to contemporary debates in Continental and Anglo-American philosophy,
coupled with the central role that philosophy of language plays in
both streams, this important new study offers the first comprehensive,
integrated and fully developed analysis of Hegel's theory of language.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781441191519
Publisert
2015
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Continuum
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter