Jennifer Mather Saul’s Dogwhistles & Figleaves: How Manipulative Language Spreads Racism and Falsehood (2024) is an important contribution to the domains of philosophy of language, social epistemology and political philosophy. As the title indicates, Saul’s primary focus is on the nature and rhetorical effects of two linguistic devices: (1) dogwhistles and (2) figleaves. These specific linguistic techniques are often employed by political leaders to manipulate a target audience and influe...
