The Language of the Marketplace and the Language of the Nuptial Chamber: The Theological Significance of a Distinction in the Philosophy of Language

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Year of Publication

1996

Author

Schlette, Heinz Robert

Editor

Dunaway, John M. Springsted, Eric O.

Book

The Beauty That Saves: Essays on Aesthetics and Language in Simone Weil

Pages

31-37

Publisher

Mercer University Press

Place Published

Macon, Georgia

Language

English
French
German

Translator

Fogarty, Patricia

Keywords

language

Annotation

Schlette begins by noting the absence of discussion of Weil’s use and understanding of language in the scholarly literature about her. He then focuses on one example from her writing on language which shows “her keen awareness of the problems in the philosophy of language” (p. 31): the distinction she makes between ‘language of the marketplace’ and ‘language of the nuptial chamber”. Schlette compares this distinction to the philosophical distinction between ‘constative’ and ‘performative’ statements. He discusses these ideas at some length, paying particular attention to the use Weil makes of the distinction between the two types of language. Schlette concludes by arguing for the need to examine Weil’s body of work through the lens of this distinction.