Merleau-Ponty e la "innere Sprachform". Tra linguaggio filosofico e parola letteraria

The paper aims at exploring the indeterminacy of meaning in Merleau-Ponty’s account in light of his interpretation of the concept, borrowed from Humboldt, of innere Sprachform. The term indeterminacy refers to the instability of meaning and the uncertainty of reference making possible linguistic change and enrichment. In Merleau-Ponty’s radical account the indeterminacy is a pre-condition for meaningfulness in general, as showed by the way he inherits Kurt Golstein’s use of the term. Furthermore, the paper aims at demonstrating that, basing upon Ernst Cassirer’s interpretation of language, culturally close to Humboldt’s account, Merleau-Ponty relies on the relationship between literature and philosophy. Starting from a textual analysis, the paper will focus on the emergence of this term in order to show the way Merleau-Ponty’s interpretation of innere Sprachform insists upon the central role played by the sensible manifestation of the sense