Philosophy of Language (Humanities)

The Expressivist Conception of Language and World: Humboldt and the Charge of Linguistic Idealism and Relativism

by Jo-Jo Koo

(Published in J. Burmeister and M. Sentesy (eds.), On Language: Analytic, Continental and Historical Contributions (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007), pp. 3-26. Please note that the pagination in this essay collection is the official pagination of any references to this paper, not the one given via this website.)

In her book about the linguistic turn in hermeneutic philosophy, Cristina Lafont argues that the so-called... more In her book about the linguistic turn in hermeneutic philosophy, Cristina Lafont argues that the so-called expressivist conception of language like that of Humboldt (and other philosophers in the German expressivist-hermeneutic tradition) threatens the objectivity of the world by emphasizing the role of language in constituting and disclosing the world. Specifically, she argues that expressivist philosophers of language are all ultimately committed to some pernicious form of linguistic idealism and relativism.

In this paper I first present Humboldt’s reflections on language and give some textual evidence for why he is often read—mistakenly in my view—as a linguistic idealist and relativist. Second, I will briefly sketch Lafont’s charge of linguistic idealism and relativism against Humboldt. Third and finally, I will show how she misunderstands Humboldt’s expressivist conception of language and world by connecting my response to her criticisms with an argument that originates in a different philosophical tradition, namely, Donald Davidson’s argument that successful linguistic communication does not require the sharing of explicit rules or conventions that govern in advance the use of words.