Speaking Philosophically

Western philosophy has often claimed for itself not just a distinct sphere of knowledge but a distinct form of communication set against ordinary speech. In <i>Speaking Philosophically </i>Thomas Sutherland proposes that for some philosophers authentic philosophizing demands a specific manner of speaking or writing adoption of which enables one to gesture toward truths that propositional speech will never grasp. Drawing on a variety of thinkers - Heraclitus Plato Kant Fichte Nietzsche Kierkegaard Weil Foucault and Irigaray - Sutherland argues this emphasis on the form of philosophical communication can function as an exclusionary mechanism determining who is deemed capable of speaking philosophically.