A Poetic Philosophy of Language: Nietzsche and Wittgensteins Expressivism

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Connecting poetry and philosophy of language, Philip Mills bridges the continental and analytical divide by bringing together the writings of Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. Through an expressivist philosophy of poetry, he argues that we can understand some of the core questions in the philosophy of language. Mills highlights the continuity of poetic language with ordinary language, and positions Nietzsche and Wittgensteins thinking as the clearest way to expand the philosophy of poetry. By tracing the expressivist tradition of philosophy of language, this study locates its roots in German Romanticism right through to the work of contemporary expressivists such as Huw Price and Robert Brandom. Where poetry has been difficult to grasp with the traditional philosophical tools used by aestheticians, A Poetic Philosophy of Language operates at the crossroads between philosophy of art and language, proposing a new philosophy of poetry with wide-ranging potentialities.

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Mills central question is compelling: what might the core questions of a traditionally representationalist philosophy of language look like when viewed through the lens of a poetic expressivism The answer, drawing on Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, is no less compelling, and admirably negotiates analytic, continental and pragmatic philosophical traditions. Highly recommended. * Sean Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Deakin University, Australia *
In a world of scarce resources and powerful technologies that are unequally shared, human life threatens to collapse into unavoidable, viciously competitive getting and spending. Philip Mills makes a powerful, urgent case that poetry can help us to see our lives otherwise. * Richard Eldridge, Charles and Harriett Cox McDowell Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Swarthmore College, USA *

Author Bio

Philip Mills is a postdoctoral researcher in French Literature at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.