Embodied Simulation and a Few Remarks on the Philosophy of Language in Italy

The debate on the state of the art of philosophy in Italy shows many differences from the three main currents of contemporary philosophy, namely deconstructionism, critical theory, and analytic philosophy. On one hand, the philosophical stance towards language, and on the other hand, the strong separation between science and philosophy are the distinctive features of the Italian thought. In particular, philosophy of language shows a fragmented framework in which current researches are an example for future studies on language and human nature. The basic idea behind the Philosophy of Language in Italy is that language has a biological and social nature. The aim of this paper is to give an account of the range of ＂bio＂ through a dialogue between philosophy and neuroscience. I will review the Italian research on mirror neurons with particular attention to the developments in embodied simulation proposed by Vittorio Gallese. I will underline the philosophical aspects of this neuroscientific theory, providing some remarks on intersubjectivity, intentions, and language. Finally, I will suggest future joint studies in neuroscience and the philosophy of language.

Semioethics and Philosophy of Language as Recovery of Listening

Semioethics is the vocation of semiotics,because responsive understanding is the original vocation of the sign,where responding is not limited to the word,or to any type of identification interpretant. Listening is encounter,going towards the other,hospitality,responsiveness not as initiative by the person responding,responsibility without alibis.Human semiosis is characterized by metasemiosis:the capacity to reflect on signs,to suspend responses and deliberate,beyond immediate semiosis undistinguished from the response to it. Human semiosis is characterized by metasemiosis:the capacity to reflect on signs,to suspend responses and deliberate.This capacity involves an inescapable responsibility from the human animal towards life over the whole planet.Susan Petrilli’s book begins with a question,in the title of the first chapter,concerning the relation between "Semiosis and Life":What lies in their future? Her response:our present is the future perfect of semiotics.The problem is not simply of the theoretical order,given that semiotics is also implicated as semeiotics,as symtomatology.The relation between semiotics and the question of the health of life at the planetary level is not only of the historical order,ensuing from the connection of semiotics today with medical semeiotics,symptomatology,beginning with Hippocrates and Galen.The human being as a "semiotic animal"is the only animal responsible for semiosis,for life,even more so the professional scholar of signs.

A Few Important and Original Aspects of Carlo Cattaneo’s Philosophical-Linguistic Ideas

The essay has two main purposes.The first is a general reconstruction of Cattaneo’s linguistic thought,highlighting the most important aspects of both his reflections on the connection between language and the community of speakers,and his study of the functions and properties of language.The latter includes an analysis of the influence Cattaneo’s philosophy had on the sphere of Italian linguistics at the turn of the 20th century.

Gadamerian Perspectives of Language: Inevitably Limited

This paper provides an overview of Gadamerian perspectives of language by combining the text of Truth and Method with more specific examples from the history of language and everyday life.The limitations and barriers of language usage in conversation are inevitable due to the fact that the history,perspectives,and many other characteristics of an individual have the ability to shape expression.This paper tends to look into three of the most significant factors contributing to the existence of this limitation and further explain and clarify this puzzled aspect of language that has been studied by many philosophers and linguists in the past centuries.

The Metalingual Function about the Three Unspeakable Situations in the Early Thoughts of Wittgenstein

The metalingual function of language is to talk what we talk and think what we think.The contribution of Wittgenstein's early research on language is to clear the boundary that there is something beyond words.This topic of this paper is to exploit the meaning of why"the unspeakable"is unspeakable.It could be divided into 3 parts.The first part is introduction about the goal of this research.The second part is analyses about the three unspeakable situations in the early thoughts of Wittgenstein.The third part is three points of enlightenments about the unspeakable situation.

A Review of G.G.Shpet’s Hermeneutic-Phenomenology

Based on the analysis of the philosophical source and the epistemological roots of G.G.Shpet’s hermeneutic-phenomenology,this article states that G.G.Shpet,as an important Russian representative of the turn“from ontology to epistemology”in the philosophy of language,not only inherited Husserlian phenomenology,but also combined phenomenology and hermeneutics together as to develop a unique form of hermeneutic-phenomenology,which is based on Husserl’s phenomenology,deeply influenced by Dilthey’s hermeneutics,and inherited Humboldt’s philosophy of language to some extend as well.Besides,the author points out that some of G.G.Shpet’s thoughts were also inherited from Slavophile and Moscow school of metaphysics.

Functions and Characteristics of Verbal Discourse:From Rhetoric to Anthropology

The essay describes a common research field between rhetoric and anthropology composed by these elements:(1)the forms and model of verbal language;(2)the analysis of the peculiar properties of orality;(3)the elements of distinction between orality and literacy;(4)the study of factors and conditions that make the spoken word effective,and in the fact that it can exercise persuasive power over the people to whom it is addressed.These topics have been analyzed by prominent authors such as Gorgias,Aristotle,Cicero,Perelman,Goody,Lévi-Strauss.

A Few Thoughts on Leopardi’s Linguistic Philosophy

The essay describes,on the one hand,how much technical and scientific knowledge played an important role in Leopardi’s formation-demonstrated in the first place by the Dissertazioni filosofiche and Storia dell’Astronomia-and,on the other hand,highlights how they then influenced his philosophical reflection represented both by his materialist conception of man,and by the thoughts on language in a unitary vision of man and of his expressive abilities.As regards this last area,we have concentrated our analysis on two fundamental themes:1.the distinction between words and terms;2.the dialectical conception of language that holds together apparently antithetical aspects,such as those of vagueness and semantic uniqueness or beauty and usefulness.