Language and Philosophy: F. Mauthner’s Sprachkritik Enlightened by Pyrrhonism

Abstract

Fritz Mauthner (1849-1923) was one of the most representative figures of the language crisis (Sprachkrise) of the early 20th century expressed by various German-speakers intellectuals, poets and writers. His philosophical capital work Beiträge zu einer kritik der Sprache (1901-1902) is considered one of the most radical expressions of linguistic skepticism. In this respect, G. Weiler (1970) considers that this type of radical skepticism becomes self-defeating, leading to mysticism. From his perspective, Mauthner presents himself as an anti-philosopher. This conclusion, however, is imprecise because it does not incorporate elements that allow enriching and clarifying the type of skepticism that comprises the critical-philosophical project. In particular, it overlooks the differences between modern skepticism and Pyrrhonism. 
Through a critical discussion with this “skeptical” interpretation, the aim of this article is to recover the Pyrrhonian elements present in the Mauthnerian critique of language. Our hypothesis is that this recovery allows a clearer understanding of his thought, and also enables a philosophically consistent perspective of it. From this, we will try to show that the Mauthnerian critical project can be understood as an original form of neo-pyrrhonism.