This book traces the linguistic turns in the history of modern philosophy and the development of the philosophy of language. Michael Losonsky shows how the history of the philosophy of language in the modern period is marked by an as yet unintegrated dichotomy between formal and pragmatic perspectives on language.

This book traces the linguistic turns in the history of modern philosophy and the development of the philosophy of language from Locke to Wittgenstein. Michael Losonsky argues that the philosophy of language begins with Lockes Essay Concerning Human Understanding. He shows how the history of the philosophy of language in the modern period is marked by a dichotomy between formal and pragmatic perspectives on language and that modern philosophy has not been able to integrate these two aspects of human language.