The Problem of Language in Descartes’ and Leibniz’s Rationalist Philosophy
Abstract views: 342
/ 
PDF downloads: 199
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8171462Keywords:
Rationalism, Philosophy of language, Leibniz, Descartes, Universal language.Abstract
Since philosophers of the early modern period focused on the study of knowledge, they were also forced to explore language as a means of expressing and transmitting knowledge. The purpose of this study is to analyze the views on language of such rationalist thinkers as René Descartes and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and determine their contribution to subsequent language research. Our research has shown that three main themes can be distinguished in the linguistic views of the early rationalists: views on the functions and problematic aspects of natural languages (1), the project of a universal language capable of ideally expressing information (2), and the idea of language as a special ability representing the human mind and spirit (3). Our research has shown that the views of the early rationalists influenced the development of modern and recent philosophy of language, linguistics, as well as information theory.
References
Altınörs, Atakan. 2016. İdealar ve Dil Bağlamında Locke ile Leibniz. İstanbul: Bilge Kültür Sanat.
Bacon, Francis. 1882. “On the Dignity and Advancement of Learning”. In The Works of Francis Bacon, collected and edited by J.Spedding, R.L.Ellis and D.D.Heath, volume IX, 13-377. Cambridge: The Riverside Press.
Bacon, Francis. 2019. Novum Organum. Çeviren Talip Kabadayı. Ankara: Bilgesu Yayıncılık.
Cassirer, Ernst. 2015. “Kantian elements in Wilhelm von Humboldt’s philosophy of language”. Les Études Philosophiques, 113/ 2, 259 -282.
Chomsky, Noam. 2009. Cartesian Linguistics. A Chapter in the History of Rationalist Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cordemoy, Géraud. 2017. “A discourse on speech.” In Sourcebook in the History of Philosophy of Language Primary source texts from the Pre-Socratics to Mill, edited by Margaret Cameron, B. Hill & R.J. Stainton, 561-580. Switzerland: Springer.
Descartes, René. 1991. “Correspondence.” Vol. III of Philosophical Writings. Translated by J.Cottingham, R. Stoothof, D.Murdook & A.Kenny. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Descartes, René. 2007. Felsefenin İlkeleri. Çeviren Mesut Akın. İstanbul: Say Yayınları.
Descartes, René. 2020. Yöntem Üzerine Konuşma. Çeviren Atakan Altınörs. İstanbul: Bilge Kültür Sanat.
Descartes, René. 2021.Yöntem Üzerine Konuşma. Çeviren İbrahim Utku Bayrak. İstanbul: Karpa Yayıncılık.
Eco, Umberto. 1997. The Search for the Perfect Language. Wiley: Blackwell.
Formigari, Lia. 1988. Language and Experience in 17th-Century British Philosophy. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965.
Humboldt, Wilhelm von.1988. On Language: The Diversity of Human Language-Structure and its Influence on the Mental Development of Mankind, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hume, David. 2022. İnsan Zihni Üzerine bir Araştırma. Çeviren Cevahir Ceylan. Ankara: Dorlion Yayınları
Leibnitz, Gottfried Wilhelm. 1916. New Essays Concerning Human Understanding. Translated by Alfred Gideon Langley. Chicago-London: The Open Court Publishing Company.
Leibnitz, Gottfried Wilhelm. 1984a. “Characteristica Univversalis Fikrinin Tarihi”. Latinceden Rusçaya çeviren G. Mayorova, 412-418, Toplu Eserler, 3.Cilt, Moskova: Mısl. (Лейбниц, Готфрид Вильгельм. Сочинения в Четырех Томах, Том 3, Москва: Мысль, 412-418.)
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. 2010. Metafizik Üzerine Konuşma. Çeviren A.Timuçin. İstanbul: Bulut Yayınları.
Locke, John. 1992. İnsan Anlığı Üzerine Bir Deneme. Çeviren Vehbi Hacıkadiroğlu. İstanbul: Ara Yayıncılık.
Ott, Walter R. Locke’s Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Paleo, Bruno Woltzenlogel. 2016. “Leibniz’s Characteristica Universalis and Calculus Ratiocinator Today”, Death and Anty-Death, vol.14, 313-332. Ann Arbor Michigan: Ria Ucniversity Press.
Spranger, Eduard. 1908. “Wilhelm von Humboldt und Kant”, Kant-Studien, 13, 57-129.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 POSSEIBLE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
