Presentation

Abstract

Since the two of us have been very interested in the language-thought relationship for a long time, we decided we should start working together somehow, and we proposed the idea of a special issue to Theoria. Our specific interest in this classic problem is try-ing to avoid a purely philosophical approach (i. e., the attempt to identify and solve some of the numerous problems by only using conceptual analysis). In addition to conceptual analysis, which is always needed in dealing with notions so difficult and elusive as language and thought, we wanted to look for approaches that were charac-terized by the explicit effort to take into special consideration some form of empirical evidence. With this goal in mind, we invited philosophers who have been working on the problem with an eye on empirical results, and scientists whose publications showed not only relevant results for the problem, but also philosophical interest. The stature of the authors who accepted to participate in the project is so remarkable that we must start by expressing our gratitude to all of them here.