Philosophy of Communication

To philosophize is to communicate philosophically. From its inception, philosophy hascommunicated forcefully. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle talk a lot, and talk ardently. Becausephilosophy and communication have belonged together from the beginning--and because philosophy comesinto its own and solidifies its stance through communication--it is logical that we subjectcommunication to philosophical investigation. This collection of key works of classical, modern, andcontemporary philosophers brings communication back into philosophy's orbit. It is the firstanthology to gather in a single volume foundational works that address the core questions, concepts,and problems of communication in philosophical terms. The editors have chosen thirty-two selectionsfrom the work of Plato, Leibniz, Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Benjamin, Lacan, Derrida,Sloterdijk, and others. They have organized these texts thematically, rather than historically, inseven sections: consciousness; intersubjective understanding; language; writing and context;difference and subjectivity; gift and exchange; and communicability and community. Taken together,these texts not only lay the foundation for establishing communication as a distinct philosophicaltopic but also provide an outline of what philosophy of communication might look like.