The Instituto de Filosofia da Linguagem [Philosophy of Language Institute] (IFL) is a research unit of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the New University of Lisbon and it's supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology, the Public Agency for evaluating and funding Portuguese research in all domains.
IFL's main purpose is to develop research in the current fields of philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, philosophy of communication, aesthetics, political philosophy, philosophy of mind, and areas of philosophy of action and moral philosophy. At the institute there is not a unique and strict philosophical (not to mention, ideological) orientation such as analytical versus continental philosophy and one can speak of a plurality of orientations of its members.
If one thing defines who we are, that probably is the fact that, above all, we develop our main work and research as a team in which each member contributes at its best, rather than a group of people working individually in a scattered and protracted way. To better understand what is meant by this fundamental trait and why and how it came about, some historical contextualization is in need.
IFL was created in November of 1993. Three main tenets defined IFL from the very start:
1) A focus on research in Contemporary Philosophy;
2) The formation of young researchers, and;
3) To reach the best quality level by international standards.
This approach to philosophical research marked a departure from the traditional Portuguese philosophical practice from the beginning. The unit survived until 1996 almost only on a good will basis, since no real funds where available. In May of 1996 the unit was for the first time evaluated by an international board designated by the Foundation for Science and Technology, got the highest mark (“Excellent” – with two encores 1999, and 2003), and the first funds came and started to help IFL’s development.
The three aims referred above were the main guidelines in the development of the first (and innovative) autonomously evaluated and funded research project by the institute in 1997: the production of a CD-ROM expounding the thought of six major contemporary philosophers of language and communication (PCSH/CEFE/130/96). Another original initiative was to form a team of five young full time researchers (with PhD Fellowships from FCT) working intensively and in a daily basis at the IFL research room. These conditions created a working dynamics of intensive and interactive research and intellectual interchange of ideas among the members of the team (both informally, in ongoing discussions, and in a more formal way in specialized discussion groups and seminars). This trait maintains itself, from 10 years now, as one of the most essential characteristics of the Institute identity.
In addition, IFL promoted the formation of the research team members by providing, both material facilities (specialized books, journals subscriptions, informatics, etc.) and inviting some important international specialists to give talks and seminars, and also by funding activities abroad, such as the attendance of conferences, specialized bibliographic consulting and the short periods of training.
This policy was aimed at guaranteeing the most up-to-date international scientific formation of the young researchers while maintaining this renewed critical mass in Portugal. Thanks to this policy, the institute gradually enlarged its research team with new members and engaged in more research projects with more specialized scientific targets and ambitions.
The results of keeping, maintaining and improving this dynamic research and this formation environment through the years proved to be self-rewarding. Today the researchers working at, and formed by, IFL are producing research at the top level of international quality standards, publishing papers on international journals, books in international publishers, giving talks at international meetings, keeping permanent contacts with some of the most important specialists of their research fields, and making their results to available the Portuguese philosophical community, usually unaware of the scientific areas developed in the IFL. As a simple example of how impressive the qualitative and quantitative development has been in the last few years consider that, while in 2001 there were 5 talks in international conferences by IFL members, the number raised to 29 in 2007! In sum, it is not inadequate to say that IFL as a whole went from the early formative years to a more recent stage where it produces genuine original research at an international level.
Currently the Institute is consolidating its status as an important European research unit developing research networks with other important international and national research centres (e.g., Rugters Center for Cognitive Science, USA, Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, UK, CREA and Collège Internacional de Philosophie, France, Departament de Lògica I Filosofia de la Ciència, Universitat Barcelona, Spain, Associação Kantiana Luso-Brasileira).
Very recently, the IFL enlarged the number of members and redefined itself as a unit composed by three different research groups: Philosophy of Language and Communication, Ethics and Political Philosophy, and Aesthetics. The methods and objects of research remain innovative and thought-provoking. It should be emphasized that the our general working methodology is always to use best available conceptual tools and try them in concrete problems at domains such as verbal communication, artistic production, particular ethical concerns, concrete political systems and practices, etc.
Despite all the changes and transformations trough the years, the fundamentals of IFL identity remain basically the same: to work as a team (made of smaller teams) on current and up-to-date philosophical and scientific topics being this goal materialized in two other major targets: the production of high quality level research and the continuous formation of new generations of young researchers.
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