Philosophy and the Language of the People

The Claims of Common Speech from Petrarch to Locke
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-1-108-84596-0
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 300 Seiten, Format (B × H): 196 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 499 g

Which language should philosophers use: technical or common language? In a book as important for intellectual historians as it is for philosophers, Lodi Nauta addresses a vital question which still has resonance today: is the discipline of philosophy assisted or disadvantaged by employing a special vocabulary? By the Middle Ages philosophy had become a highly technical discipline, with its own lexicon and methods. The Renaissance humanist critique of this specialised language has been dismissed as philosophically superficial, but the author demonstrates that it makes a crucial point: it is through the misuse of language that philosophical problems arise. He charts the influence of this critique on early modern philosophers, including Hobbes and Locke, and shows how it led to the downfall of medieval Aristotelianism and the gradual democratization of language and knowledge. His book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the transition from medieval to modern philosophy.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nauta, Lodi

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: Neuzeit
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Mittelalterliche & Scholastische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction; 1. Early Humanist Critics of Scholastic Language: Francesco Petrarca and Leonardo Bruni; 2. From a Linguistic Point of View: Lorenzo Valla's Critique of Aristotelian-Scholastic Philosophy; 3. Giovanni Pontano on Language, Meaning, and Grammar; 4. Juan Luis Vives on Language, Knowledge, and the Topics; 5. Anti-Essentialism and the Rhetoricization of Knowledge: Mario Nizolio's Humanist Attack on Universals; 6. Skepticism and the Critique of Language in Francisco Sanches; 7. Thomas Hobbes and the Rhetoric of Common Language; 8. Between Private Signification and Common Use: Locke on Ideas, Words, and the Social Dimension of Language; Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

Nauta, Lodi
Lodi Nauta is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Groningen. He is author and editor of several monographs and essay collections, including the award-winning In Defense of Common Sense: Lorenzo Valla's Humanist Critique of Scholastic Philosophy (2009), and has written numerous journal articles and book chapters on medieval and early modern philosophy. He was a recipient of the Spinoza Award in 2016.