Skepticism and Language in Early Modern Philosophy

Danilo Marcondes argues that, contrary to a traditional view maintaining that language is not given any central role in early modern philosophy, an "early linguistic turn" in the seventeenth century opened a place for the philosophy of language as part of the philosophical system then under construction. Skepticism and Language in Early Modern Philosophy: The Early Linguistic Turn also claims that the revival of ancient skepticism at the modern age contributed decisively towards this "linguistic turn" insofar as it attacked the "powers of the intellect" in representing reality and making knowledge possible. Marcondes also argues that the concept of language itself becomes crucial to this investigation since the various understandings that developed during this period led to the central role that would be given to the philosophy of language in contemporary philosophy.

Danilo Marcondes is professor of philosophy at Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro.

Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION: THE EARLY LINGUISTIC TURN AND THE TRADITION OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
PART I: LANGUAGE AND IDEAS IN EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT
Chapter 1: SKEPTICISM AND LANGUAGE IN EARLY MODERN THOUGHT: AN OVERVIEW
Chapter 2: LANGUAGE AND KNOWLEDGE IN EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY: BETWEEN THE "ABUSE OF WORDS" AND THE VEIL OF IDEAS
Chapter 3: FROM THE LIGHT OF THE SOUL TO THE CONVENTIONAL SIGN: MIND AND LANGUAGE IN EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
PART II: THE EARLY LINGUISTIC TURN
Chapter 4: CARTESIAN LINGUISTICS?
Chapter 5: NON-CARTESIAN VIEWS OF LANGUAGE
Chapter 6: RHETORIC AND PRAGMATICS: THE ANTI-CARTESIANISM OF LA MOTHE LE VAYER, THOMAS HOBBES AND GIAMBATTISTA VICO
Chapter 7: LOCKE AND HUME ON LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
Chapter 8: KANT'S RELEVANCE TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
Chapter 9: TOWARDS THE LINGUISTIC TURN
BIBLIOGRAPHY
About the Author