Louis Kohlmann

This paper contributes to the emerging debate on ideal and non-ideal philosophy of language. After distinguishing between a critical and a constructive project within non-ideal philosophy of language, I first refine the critical project by working out two problems of an ideal philosophy of language: the problem of limited sight and the problem of limited reach. In response to these problems, and as part of the constructive project, I develop a novel positive account of non-ideal philosophy of language. I argue that non-ideal philosophy of language should be construed as a bottom-up approach to investigating linguistic phenomena, where working bottom-up means starting to theorise from a standpoint within our practical, social, and linguistic reality. After presenting my view, I contrast it with de-idealisation approaches and defend it against the objection that we do not need non-ideal philosophy of language.

This paper argues that the expression ‘fake news’ has been turned into a slur: in addition to a meaning applying to pieces of information or reports, it has gained a novel slurring meaning that targets liberal journalists. To this end, the paper surveys the recent development in uses of ‘fake news’, it shows that uses of ‘fake news’ directed at people display features that are typically exhibited by slurs, and it argues that such uses are best captured by views on which the expression has become ambiguous, gaining a slurring meaning. Finally, the paper considers the process of pejoration through which ‘fake news’ was turned into a slur through a small number of highly influential uses.