Linguistics, Anthropology and Philosophy in the French Enlightenment

Ulrich Ricken founded and directed and is now Emeritus Professor of the International Centre for Research on the European Enlightenment at the University of Halle, Germany. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of ideas, the history of language, and the history of linguistic theories in their philosophical context.

Part 1 The Overture to the Enlightenment Debate: Language in the Interstices of the Intellectual and Physical Nature of Humanity; Chapter 1 Interpretations of Language As an Argument for and Against Dualism; Chapter 2 Language and the Affects in the Port-Royal Logic; Chapter 3 Cordemoy and Dualism; Chapter 4 The Cartesian Argument; Chapter 5 Language and Sense Perception in the Controversy Between Arnauld and Malebranche; Chapter 6 Language and the Epistemological Evaluation of the Senses From Descartes to Locke and Du Bos; Part 2 Language, Anthropology and History in the Enlightenment; Chapter 7 A Century of Controversy; Chapter 8 From Locke to Condillac; Chapter 9 Grammar, Philosophy, Anthropology; Chapter 10 The Origin of Language and the Historical View of Humanity; Chapter 11 Language and Evolutionary Thinking; Chapter 12 The “abuse of Words”; Chapter 13 Language and Knowledge; Chapter 14 The French Enlightenment and Its Aftermath; Chapter 15 Concluding Remarks;