JoLMA

The Journal for the Philosophy of Language, Mind and the Arts

Pragmatism and the Question of Language: Words and the Rest

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Abstract

This essay highlights certain limitations in the way the so-called ‘linguistic turn’ became prominent in philosophy throughout the twentieth century. In particular, in line with the pragmatist approach – especially that of John Dewey – it emphasises the importance of the relationship between language and experience. The main aim is to show that those philosophical traditions which focus either on experience (such as phenomenology) or on language (such as analytic philosophy) overlook the most crucial point: namely, what language and experience owe each other, as well as their rootedness in a shared natural and social foundation.


open access

Pubblicato 01 Settembre 2025 | Lingua: en

Keywords CommunicationLinguistic TurnPragmatismLanguageExperience

This publication is an output of the WITT-ART – Wittgenstein in Modern and Contemporary Art project (SOE2024_0000148, CUP: H73C24001980001), hosted by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU – PNRR – Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.2.