La forma e il contenuto: la nozione di inferenza materiale nei primi saggi di Wilfrid Sellars

Abstract

The aim of this article is to offer an interpretation of the Sellarsian notion of material inference. We will claim that this notion can be better understood if read alongside the Husserlian notion of material a priori, as it is developed in the Third Logical Investigation. Firstly, we will trace the influence of Husserl on Sellars back to his period of study under Marvin Farber. Then we will offer a commentary of this Husserlian concept, outlining its importance in the Husserlian system. Finally, we will claim that the notion of material inference is at the centre of the Sellarsian conceptual structure as he is developing it during these years, and we will also contend that this notion can be interpreted as a translation of the Husserlian notion of material a priori in the terms of the ‘new’ philosophy of language.