Defense Date

2-26-2026

Graduation Date

Spring 5-8-2026

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Philosophy

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Jay Lampert

Committee Member

Jennifer Ann Bates

Committee Member

Jim Vernon

Keywords

German Idealism, G. W. F. Hegel, Illocution, Second Nature, Speech Act Theory

Abstract

This dissertation offers an interpretive reconstruction of Hegel’s philosophy of language. Rich reflections on the nature of language and its significance to human life can be found across Hegel’s works. Many of these reflections strongly suggest that language plays a vital role in Hegel’s philosophical project. Yet surprisingly, Hegel never set down a comprehensive account of his view of language. To this day, it remains a matter of dispute whether Hegel’s writings on language are consistent enough to amount to a single ‘philosophy of language’ and, if they are, what sort of philosophy of language they might offer. In the present work, I argue that Hegel’s mature writings do offer a consistent and compelling philosophy of language, one which anticipates and stands to offer valuable contributions to the contemporary Speech Act Theory tradition. To demonstrate this, I trace the role of habit across several of Hegel’s major writings on language, arguing that Hegel’s philosophy of language takes the form of a dialectical development of habit, beginning with its role in the production of pre-linguistic gestures and concluding with its role in the performance of complex communicative social acts. I argue that this dialectic culminates in an account of linguistic action which reveals the vital role of what J. L. Austin calls ‘illocutionary force’ in shaping our bodily existence into a ‘second nature’ and in constituting our identities as subjects.

Language

English

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