Philosophy For Our Times Philosophy's linguistic turn: Was it a mistake? | Hilary Lawson, Michael Potter, John Searle
10 snips
Jun 25, 2024 Join post-realist philosopher Hilary Lawson, professor of logic Michael Potter, and philosopher of language John Searle as they debate the impact of philosophy's linguistic turn. They delve into language's role in shaping reality, exploring whether it hinders our understanding or enhances it. From analyzing sentences about non-existent objects to discussing the uniqueness of human language, this podcast challenges traditional perceptions of language in philosophy.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Language Ceased To Be Merely A Mirror
- The linguistic turn made language a central philosophical problem by showing language isn't a neutral mirror of reality.
- That shift was inevitable once philosophers noticed gaps between languages and worlds across cultures.
A Firsthand Account Of The Linguistic Turn
- John Searle recalled living through the linguistic turn and praised its conversational clarity and practical results.
- He credited figures like Austin and Wittgenstein for improving our understanding of communication and social institutions.
Language Constitutes Social Reality
- Studying language use birthed pragmatic linguistics and clarified how language constitutes social facts like money and marriage.
- Some phenomena exist only because we represent them in language, not independently of it.