John Austin is a British philosopher, one of the important figures in what is called the philosophy of language. He was the founder of the concept, one of the first theories of pragmatists in the philosophy of language. This theory is called the "speech act." His original wording is related to his posthumous work, How to Make Words a Thing.
The philosophy of everyday language
The philosophy of language is a branch of philosophy that studies language. Namely, such concepts as meaning, truth, use of language (or pragmatics), teaching and creating a language. Understanding what was said, the main idea, experience, communication, interpretation and translation from a linguistic point of view.
Linguists almost always focused on the analysis of the linguistic system, its forms, levels and functions, while the problem of philosophers in relation to language was deeper or more abstract. They were interested in issues such as the relationship between language and the world. That is, between linguistic and extralinguistic processes, or between language and thought.
Of the topics preferred by the philosophy of language, the following deserve attention:
- learning the origin of the language;
- symbolism of the language (artificial language);
- linguistic activity in its global sense;
- semantics.
Common linguistic philosophy
The philosophy of ordinary language, sometimes called the “Oxford philosophy”, is a kind of linguistic philosophy that can be characterized as the opinion that language orientation is the key to both the content and the method inherent in the discipline of philosophy as a whole. Linguistic philosophy includes both the philosophy of an ordinary language and the logical positivism developed by the philosophers of the Vienna Circle. The two schools are inextricably linked historically and theoretically, and one of the keys to understanding the philosophy of ordinary language really understands the relationship that it carries to logical positivism.
Although the philosophy of ordinary language and logical positivism share the belief that philosophical problems are linguistic problems, and therefore the method inherent in philosophy is a “linguistic analysis”, it differs significantly from what such an analysis is and what its goals are. The philosophy of ordinary language (or "simple words") is usually associated with the later views of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the work of philosophers of the University of Oxford between about 1945 and 1970.
The main figures of the philosophy of ordinary language
The main figures of the ordinary philosophy in the early stages were Norman Malcolm, Alice Ambrose, Morris Lazerovici. At a later stage, among philosophers can be noted Gilbert Ryle, John Austin, among others. However, it is important to note that the philosophical point of view of the ordinary language was not developed as a single theory and was not an organized program as such.
The usual philosophy of language is primarily a methodology committed to a close and thorough study of the use of language expressions, especially philosophically problematic. The adherence to this methodology and to what corresponds and is most fruitful for the discipline of philosophy is due to the fact that it combines diverse and independent views.
Professor at Oxford
John Austin (1911–1960) was a professor of moral philosophy at Oxford University. He made a great contribution to various fields of philosophy. Important are his works on knowledge, perception, action, freedom, truth, language and the use of language in speech acts.
His work on cognition and perception continues the tradition of “Oxford realism,” originating from Cook Wilson and Harold Arthur Pritchard to J. M. Hinton, John MacDowell, Paul Snowdon, Charles Travis and Timothy Williamson.
Life and work
John Austin was born in Lancaster (England) on March 26, 1911. His father's name was Jeffrey Langshaw Austin, and his mother was Mary Austin (before the marriage of Bowes - Wilson). The family moved to Scotland in 1922, where Austin's father taught at St. Leonard's School in St. Andrews.
Austin received a scholarship in the field of classics at Shrewsbury School in 1924, and in 1929 continued his studies in classics at Balliol College in Oxford. In 1933, he was elected to the Brotherhood of College at Oxford.
In 1935, he took his first academic position as a colleague and teacher at Magdalen College in Oxford. Austin's early interests included Aristotle, Kant, Leibniz and Plato. During World War II, John Austin served in the British Intelligence Corps. He left the army in September 1945 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. For his intelligence work, he was honored to wear the Order of the British Empire.
Austin married Jean Quoots in 1941. They had four children, two girls and two boys. After the war, John returned to Oxford. He became a professor of moral philosophy in 1952. In the same year, he took on the role of delegate to the University of Oxford Publishing House, becoming Chairman of the Finance Committee in 1957. He was also chairman of the faculty of philosophy and president of the Aristotle Society. Most of his influence was in teaching and other forms of interaction with philosophers. He also organized a series of Saturday Morning discussion sessions in which several philosophical topics and works were discussed in detail. Austin died at Oxford on February 8, 1960.
Language and Philosophy
Austin was called the philosopher of everyday language. Firstly, the use of language is a central part of human activity, which is why this is an important topic in itself.
Secondly, language learning is an assistant to the coverage of some philosophical topics. Austin believed that in a hurry to solve common philosophical issues, philosophers tend to ignore the nuances associated with the compilation and evaluation of ordinary claims and judgments. Among the risks associated with insensitivity to nuances, two stand out:
- First, philosophers can see the differences that are made in the normal use of language by man and which are related to problems and requirements.
- Secondly, an inability to make full use of the resources of a common language can make philosophers susceptible to seemingly forced choices between unacceptable alternatives.