The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy
The question about the origin of language marked modernity with approaches that still echo in contemporary thinkers. This is the case with Herder’s Treatise on the Origin of Language. The question with which Herder opens the essay is significant and expresses well the fundamental problem that marke...
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The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Conatus - Journal of Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/Conatus/article/view/37087 |
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| author | Paulo Alexandre e Castro |
| author_facet | Paulo Alexandre e Castro |
| author_sort | Paulo Alexandre e Castro |
| collection | DOAJ |
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The question about the origin of language marked modernity with approaches that still echo in contemporary thinkers. This is the case with Herder’s Treatise on the Origin of Language. The question with which Herder opens the essay is significant and expresses well the fundamental problem that marked the philosophical intentions of the 18th century, namely: “Were human beings, left to their natural abilities, able to invent language for themselves?” Forgetting for a moment the implicit reference to God that continued to mark historically the philosophical narratives, it is important to focus the question on the appearance of language. In this sense, the philosopher’s essay is not limited to hypotheses about the emergence of language, or rather, about the founding characteristics of language, but it consolidates it in the anthropological, sociological and even biological horizon from which it allows the understanding of human nature and condition. The enunciation of the four natural laws and the narrative of justification that the philosopher elaborates on reveals a strong potential to understand the phenomenon of language and the human mind. This essay seeks, first, to explain Herder’s theses; second, based on this explanation, see in what sense his approach allows us to understand the phenomenon of the origin and formation of language; and finally, to understand the scope of his work with regard to language and mind, that is, to seek to determine its legacy in contemporary philosophy, namely with regard to the understanding of the human mind. Regarding the latter, it is important to mention two essential points to understand the importance of Herder’s thought for the understanding of the human mind: the mention of reflection as an inner thought and hearing as a fundamental characteristic for the development of language. It is all these questions that this essay seeks to address.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9dcaae360aad4142b766e49fa45f302b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2653-9373 2459-3842 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory |
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| series | Conatus - Journal of Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj-art-9dcaae360aad4142b766e49fa45f302b2025-08-20T03:32:41ZengThe NKUA Applied Philosophy Research LaboratoryConatus - Journal of Philosophy2653-93732459-38422025-06-0110110.12681/cjp.37087The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s PhilosophyPaulo Alexandre e Castro0Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal The question about the origin of language marked modernity with approaches that still echo in contemporary thinkers. This is the case with Herder’s Treatise on the Origin of Language. The question with which Herder opens the essay is significant and expresses well the fundamental problem that marked the philosophical intentions of the 18th century, namely: “Were human beings, left to their natural abilities, able to invent language for themselves?” Forgetting for a moment the implicit reference to God that continued to mark historically the philosophical narratives, it is important to focus the question on the appearance of language. In this sense, the philosopher’s essay is not limited to hypotheses about the emergence of language, or rather, about the founding characteristics of language, but it consolidates it in the anthropological, sociological and even biological horizon from which it allows the understanding of human nature and condition. The enunciation of the four natural laws and the narrative of justification that the philosopher elaborates on reveals a strong potential to understand the phenomenon of language and the human mind. This essay seeks, first, to explain Herder’s theses; second, based on this explanation, see in what sense his approach allows us to understand the phenomenon of the origin and formation of language; and finally, to understand the scope of his work with regard to language and mind, that is, to seek to determine its legacy in contemporary philosophy, namely with regard to the understanding of the human mind. Regarding the latter, it is important to mention two essential points to understand the importance of Herder’s thought for the understanding of the human mind: the mention of reflection as an inner thought and hearing as a fundamental characteristic for the development of language. It is all these questions that this essay seeks to address. https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/Conatus/article/view/37087languageorigin of languageHerderimitationmindsociobiology |
| spellingShingle | Paulo Alexandre e Castro The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy Conatus - Journal of Philosophy language origin of language Herder imitation mind sociobiology |
| title | The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy |
| title_full | The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy |
| title_fullStr | The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy |
| title_short | The Forgotten View of the Origin of Language: The Legacy of Herder’s Philosophy |
| title_sort | forgotten view of the origin of language the legacy of herder s philosophy |
| topic | language origin of language Herder imitation mind sociobiology |
| url | https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/Conatus/article/view/37087 |
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