Ernst Cassirer and the Autonomy of Language

Reviews / Votes

Gregory Moss . . . make[s] a further contribution . . . by focusing our attention on Cassirer's philosophy of language. . . .While Moss is motivated to distance Cassirer's account from a teleology of culture in order to resolve the tension between Verticalism and Horizontalism, it seems that Cassirer can hold that culture as a whole has the end of uniting human beings and building up a common world, while still acknowledging that each symbolic form is able to do this in its own unique way. . . .Moss's broad efforts to untangle this thorny issue remind us that this is a problem anyone interested in Cassirer's philosophy of language and culture must address. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * It is a welcome event in Cassirer studies to see more work appear in English on the interpretation of The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. Language as a symbolic form is, in many ways, a key to the other symbolic forms, as this interpretation by Gregory S. Moss emphasizes. Students and scholars concerned with the philosophy of language will find this work most useful. -- Donald Phillip Verene, Emory University Gregory S. Moss offers a careful and insightful treatment of Cassirer's account of language within his broader philosophy of culture. Special emphasis is given on the Kantian and Hegelian roots of Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms. This is particularly important since Kant and Hegel are indispensable for any deeper understanding of Cassirer. The book is an inspiring read not only for scholars of Cassirer's philosophy, but also for those interested in the philosophy of culture, and the history of continental philosophy in general. -- Guido Kreis, University of Bonn