The Language of Touch: Philosophical Examinations in Linguistics and Haptic Studies

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Offering an in-depth analysis of the relationship between touch and language through the history of philosophy, this book revitalizes the field of haptic studies, providing new insights into the philosophy of language and ontological nature of touch. The Language of Touch draws together an international team of linguists, anthropologists, and philosophers to demonstrate from a variety of disciplinary perspectives that the experience of touch is inextricable from the structure of language. Examining the intersections between phenomenology of touch and poststructural linguistics, this work draws upon figures such as Marx, Merleau-Ponty, Nancy, Derrida, and Lacan to question both how language structures touch and how touch structures language.

Reviews

The sense of touch has always been relegated to the second rank by the philosophical and cultural tradition, lagging far behind the more elevated senses of vision and hearing. Tides have changed with the path-breaking work particularly by Jean-Luc Nancy, Derrida and some others, but the proper haptic turn, in the echo of and in counterpoint to the decried linguistic turn, still has to be carried out and seen through. The present volume, bringing together the incisive and insightful research of a group of young Slovene theorists (including some honorary Slovenes), proposes a new and original take on one of the oldest questions: how do words touch things and how does touch inform and affect language Haptolinguistics may well be the word that we will have to add to our vocabulary. * Mladen Dolar, Professor of Philosophy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia *
An intriguing and thought-provoking collection of essays. These compelling and original reflections invite us to think about language and the vicissitudes of matter in new and startling ways. * Rebecca Comay, Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature, University of Toronto, Canada *

Author Bio

Mirt Komel is Assistant Professor, Researcher and Chair of the Department of Cultural Studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.