During the twentieth century, the analysis of language became a central concern within many fields of academic study. This is often referred to as the ‘linguistic turn’ and can be found in diverse arenas such as analytic philosophy, sociology, social theory, anthropology, cultural studies, social psychology and beyond. Although it may not be possible to isolate one factor that explains both how and why analyses of language became so predominant, it is, perhaps, possible to identify a common theme, a shared problem, which runs through these disparate disciplines. This is to do with the relationship of words and things, of language and the world.

The relation between words and things is not as straightforward as might first appear. One reason for this, as Alfred North Whitehead once remarked, is that ‘the little word “and” is a nest of ambiguity’ (Whitehead 1938: 74). The word ‘and’ normally operates as a conjunction, in that it links different terms. Yet the character of such links varies widely. It can indicate opposites, suggest a good pairing, or demarcate a contrast (for example, ‘black and white’, ‘fish and chips’, ‘salt and pepper’, respectively). In recent years, a movement within philosophy under the umbrella term ‘Speculative Realism’ has highlighted the specific ambiguity involved in phrases such as ‘words and things’, ‘language and the world’. Speculative Realism is a term coined in 2007 by Alberto Toscano when he was organising a conference at Goldsmiths, University of London, and needed a title for the event. The phrase was chosen to indicate the shared interests of the diverse thinkers who had agreed to attend: Ray Brassier, Iain Hamilton Grant, Graham Harman and Quentin Meillassoux. Although it is not easy to provide a definition, and these writers have subsequently gone their own philosophical ways, it is possible to outline the starting point upon which they would all agree. This is to be found in the critical position developed by Quentin Meillassoux in his book After Finitude (2008).