Ernst Cassirer and the Autonomy of Language

(Hardback)

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Ernst Cassirer and the Autonomy of Language examines the central arguments in Cassirers first volume of the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. Gregory Moss demonstrates both how Cassirer defends language as an autonomous cultural form and how he borrows the concept of the concrete universal from G. W. F. Hegel in order to develop a concept of cultural autonomy. While Cassirer rejected elements of Hegels methodology in order to preserve the autonomy of language, he also found it necessary to incorporate elements of Hegels method to save the Kantian paradigm from the pitfalls of skepticism. Moss advocates for the continuing relevance of Cassirers work on language by situating it within in the context of contemporary linguistics and contemporary philosophy. This book provides a new program for investigating Cassirers work on the other forms of cultural symbolism in his Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, by showing how the autonomy of culture is one of the leading questions motivating Cassirers philosophy of culture. With a thorough comparison of Cassirers theory of symbolism to other dominant theories from the twentieth century, including Heidegger and Wittgenstein, this book provides valuable insight for studies in philosophy of language, semiotics, epistemology, pyscholinguistics, continental philosophy, Neo-Kantian philosophy, and German idealism.

Reviews

Gregory Moss . . . make[s] a further contribution . . . by focusing our attention on Cassirer's philosophy of language. . . .While Moss is motivated to distance Cassirer's account from a teleology of culture in order to resolve the tension between Verticalism and Horizontalism, it seems that Cassirer can hold that culture as a whole has the end of uniting human beings and building up a common world, while still acknowledging that each symbolic form is able to do this in its own unique way. . . .Moss's broad efforts to untangle this thorny issue remind us that this is a problem anyone interested in Cassirer's philosophy of language and culture must address. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
It is a welcome event in Cassirer studies to see more work appear in English on the interpretation of The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. Language as a symbolic form is, in many ways, a key to the other symbolic forms, as this interpretation by Gregory S. Moss emphasizes. Students and scholars concerned with the philosophy of language will find this work most useful. -- Donald Phillip Verene, Emory University
Gregory S. Moss offers a careful and insightful treatment of Cassirers account of language within his broader philosophy of culture. Special emphasis is given on the Kantian and Hegelian roots of Cassirers philosophy of symbolic forms. This is particularly important since Kant and Hegel are indispensable for any deeper understanding of Cassirer. The book is an inspiring read not only for scholars of Cassirers philosophy, but also for those interested in the philosophy of culture, and the history of continental philosophy in general. -- Guido Kreis, University of Bonn

Author Bio

Gregory Moss is a lecturer in philosophy at Clemson University.