Skepticism and the Philosophy of Language in Early Modern...

Skepticism and the Philosophy of Language in Early Modern Thought ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the importance of skeptical arguments for the philosophy of language in early modern thought. It contrasts the rationalist conception of language and knowledge with that of philosophers who adopt some sort of skeptical position, maintaining that these philosophers end up by giving language a greater importance than rationalists. The criticism of the rationalists appeal to natural light is examined, as well as skeptical arguments limiting knowledge such as the so-called makers knowledge argument. This argument is then seen as capital for favoring a positive interpretation of the importance of language for knowledge. The revival of†¦show more content†¦According to this view it is this kind of intuitive knowledge that grounds the possibility of certain knowledge. Skeptics, on the other hand, attacked the very notion of intuitive knowledge, either rejecting it, or, such as the more moderate ones, restricting its application to specific domains, e. g., mathematics. My main contention is that skeptical arguments, which were mainly arguments purporting to establish limits to knowledge, opened the way to the consideration of language as an alternative to minds intuitive powers in mans access to reality. Linguistic representation became important as a way of avoiding some of the main problems affecting mental representation. I intend to concentrate here on one specific septic argument known as the makers knowledge argument, stating that we can only know what we create. My hypothesis is that the philosophical interest in language can be understood in many cases as a result of an interpretation of language as mans creation and therefore as part of the makers knowledge tradition. Two related questions are central to this analysis: (1) How Descartes and the Cartesians (such as the authors of the Port Royal Logic) considered language and its role in the philosophicalShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Great Encounter of China and the West1511 Words   |  7 Pagesthinking. They were also beginning to look at the religion that the European missionaries were preaching about, Christianity. On the other end, the Europeans who came in contact with the Chinese were fascinated by their culture and their philosophy, mainly the philosophy of Confucius. While the two cultures seemed to be a good match, each respecting and admiring the other, it came to an abrupt halt. The end result was China and Europe both rejecting the other culture. During the 1500-1800s many ofRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 PagesBranches of philosophy The following branches are the main areas of study: †¢ Metaphysics investigates the nature of being and the world. 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