1st Edition
The Routledge Handbook of Social and Political Philosophy of Language
This Handbook brings together philosophical work on how language shapes, and is shaped by, social and political factors. Its 24 chapters were written exclusively for this volume by an international team of leading researchers, and together they provide a broad expert introduction to the major issues currently under discussion in this area.
The volume is divided into four parts:
Part I: Methodological and Foundational Issues
Part II: Non-ideal Semantics and Pragmatics
Part III: Linguistic Harms
Part IV: Applications
The parts, and chapters in each part, are introduced in the volume’s General Introduction. A list of Works Cited concludes each chapter, pointing readers to further areas of study. The Handbook is the first major, multi-authored reference work in this growing area and essential reading for anyone interested in the nature of language and its relationship to social and political reality.
Introduction
Part I: Social and Political Language: Methodological and Foundational Issues
1. Conceptual Engineering in Philosophy
Matti Eklund
2. Social Ontology
Mari Mikkola
3. An Invitation to Social and Political Metasemantics
Derek Ball
4. Linguistic Prescriptivism
Alex Barber and Robert Stainton
5. Speech Act Theory: Social and Political Applications
Rachel Mckinney and Dan Harris
6. On the Uselessness of the Distinction Between Ideal and Non-Ideal Theory (At Least in the Philosophy of Language)
Herman Cappelen and Josh Dever
Part II: Non-Ideal Semantics and Pragmatics
7. Lying, Deception, and Epistemic Advantage
Eliot Michaelson and Andreas Stokke
8. Propaganda
Anne Quaranto and Jason Stanley
9. Code Words
Justin Khoo
10. Racist and Sexist Figleaves
Jennifer Saul
11. Protests
Matthew Chrisman and Graham Hubbs
12. Defective Contexts
Andrew Peet
Part III: Linguistic Harms
13. Varieties of Pejoratives
Robin Jeshion
14. Microaggressions and the Problem of Attributional Ambiguity
Christina Friedlaender
15. Hermeneutical Injustice
Rebecca Mason
16. Social and Political Aspects of Generic Language and Speech
Matthew Mckeever and Rachel Sterken
17. Language Extinction
Ethan Nowak
18. ’Laxwalxwashpotamáay Súngaan ‘Áawq // To Be Between the Blind Snake’s Teeth’: Indigenous Language Reclamation Between the Fangs of A (Simulated) Dilemma
Shelbi Meissner
Part IV: Applications
19. Language and Free Speech
Ishani Maitra and Mary Kate Mcgowan
20. Language and Ideology
Eric Swanson
21. Language and Legitimation
Robert Simpson
22. How Much Gender is Too Much Gender?
Robin Dembroff and Daniel Wodak
23. On Language and Sexuality: Demisexuals, Polyamorous, Bambi Lesbians, and Other Queers
Esa Diaz-Leon and Saray Ayala-Lopez
24. The Language of Mental Illness
Renee Jorgensen Bolinger
Biography
Justin Khoo is Associate Professor of Philosophy at MIT. He works primarily at the intersection of philosophy of language and linguistic semantics, and has research interests in metaphysics and meta-ethics.
Rachel Sterken is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. She works primarily at the intersection of philosophy of language, semantics, ethics, and social philosophy. Most of her research focuses on the semantics of generic language and issues related to conceptual engineering.
