Epistemology & Philosophy of Science

Volume 50, Issue 4, 2016

Is speaking about the transcendental possible?

This is a reply to the paper by Enrique Villanueva “Argument and metaphysics". Author considers the problem of meaning in terms of metaphysical statements and the possibility of discussions on metaphysical topics. The author demonstrates that Villanueva's arguments based upon a typology of languages, in terms of which one might talk about the meaning of linguistic expressions, inherits the traditional analytical ideas of language formulated by Frege, Wittgenstein and Russell, in which language as a static and potentially formalized structure is opposed to speech as a spontaneous empirical practice, which is subject to logical purification. Author criticizes the concepts that neglect the metaphysical discussions for the narrow understanding of meaning in linguistic expressions.