Language and Enlightenment

The role of language in human cognition

Language plays a crucial role in human cognition, enabling self-consciousness and the construction of civilization. The eighteenth-century debates on the joint evolution of language, mind, and culture explored whether humans could attain self-awareness and develop complex societies without language.

Enlightenment perspectives on language

Language and Enlightenment highlight the importance of language in social theory, epistemology, and aesthetics. The debates, centered around the Berlin Academy under Frederick the Great, situate these discussions within a broader historical and geographical context.

Historical and cultural context

Enlightenment thinkers recognized the historicity and linguistic rootedness of all forms of life as mainstream ideas, countering the notion that these were features of the 'Counter-Enlightenment'. They investigated whether speechless humans could have developed language and society independently.

The transition from natural signs to language

These inquiries often focused on the difficult transition from natural signs like cries and gestures to the artificial, articulate words of human language. This shift from nature to artifice was reflected in other domains, including social relations, arts, and sciences.

Authors and theories

By examining authors such as Leibniz, Wolff, Condillac, Rousseau, Michaelis, and Herder, Language and Enlightenment emphasizes the open and adaptable nature of the eighteenth-century Republic of Letters. The debates reveal that German theories of culture and language were not merely rejectionist of French ideas but involved complex interactions.

Cross-European influences

New notions of the genius of language and its role in cognition emerged through interactions with broader European currents, notably through prize contests at the Berlin Academy.