Page 59 - Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Language

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Philosophy of Linguistics and of Science
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The philosophy of science asks what counts as evi- dence in science, how theories are tested, what the nature of scientific knowledge is, and indeed whether there are any clear senses in which scientific knowledge can be distinguished from non-scientific knowledge. Similarly, the philosophy of mathematics asks what the nature of mathematical inquiry is, and the phil- osophy of the social sciences asks to what extent the social sciences are distinct from the natural sciences. The philosophy of linguistics is parallel to these en- deavors: it asks what the nature of linguisticinquiry is; what the object of inquiry is; what counts as evi- dence in linguistics; how theories are tested; to what extent the methods adopted in the various branches of linguistics are parallel to those of the natural sciences.
The philosophy of linguistics is often referred to by other names. One of these is 'foundations of linguis- tics.' Because these questions concern the nature of theorizing in linguistics, i.e., have theories themselves as their object of inquiry, the endeavor is often referred to as metatheory (theory about theories). Another term used is 'methodology,' since the ques- tions crucially concern the nature of linguisticmethod (although the term 'methodology' is also used in a more specific way, when discussing, for instance, the way in which a particular investigation is carried out). Here, potentially misleading terminological matters will be dealt with, which will provide a little more detail about the sorts of problem which arise in the philosophy of linguistics.
Carr
1. PhilosophyofLinguisticsandofLanguage
The terms 'philosophy of linguistics,' 'philosophy of language,' and 'linguistic philosophy' are not synonyms, even though there are questions which they share. The philosophy of language (see Devitt and Sterelny 1987) is a branch of philosophy which deals with the relationship between language, knowledge, and reality. It asks, for instance, whether it is possible to make a systematic distinction between these three domains, whether and to what extent 'reality' is language-dependent. T o consider the relationship between language, reality, and knowledge is to con- sider the nature of linguistic meaning. Because of this, there is no clear dividing line between semantic theory and the philosophy of language.
Linguistic philosophy denotes an approach to phil- osophy which has emerged in the evolution of twentieth-century philosophy, especially in the English-speaking world. It seeks to address tradi- tional philosophical questions in a new way, by asking about philosophical terms themselves and the way they are used. Thus, with classical problems like 'the mind/body problem,' it is held that much of what was taken to constitute the problem arose from the very terms used; if philosophers examined the terms themselves, it is claimed, problems like this might well simply dissolve. The 'linguistic turn' in philosophy put the philosophy of language much more at the center of philosophy than it had been previously.
A central figure in linguistic philosophy is Ludwig
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