Words Underway: Continental Philosophy of Language, Paperback

Words Underway offers the first full account of the important contributions the Continental tradition has made to the philosophy of language. Carolyn Culbertson examines the vital work of a range of thinkers, including Heidegger, Gadamer, Blanchot, and Kristeva. The book argues that Continental theorists are particularly helpful in recognizing our unique potential for becoming alienated from some discourse. At the same time, Culbertson argues that Continental philosophy of language tends not to treat the alienated relationship to language as something absolute. For most Continental theorists, at least, language is a living system, that is, a system maintained by undergoing constant expansion and transformation by language users. The book goes on to explore the attention Continental theorists have given to the way that forms of political power, for example gender dynamics in communication, can sometimes thwart this process and thus reinforce alienation. This book will transform the reader's sense of what the philosophy of language is about and will attract the attention of students and scholars of both philosophy of language and the Continental tradition.

Carolyn Culbertson is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University. She has published articles in journals including Southwest Philosophy Review, IJFAB: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, Continental Philosophy Review, Philosophy Today and Comparative and Continental Philosophy. She is the co-founder of the Southwest Florida Feminist Community Reading Group and Vice President of the North American Society for Philosophical Hermeneutics.