Linguistics, Anthropology and Philosophy in the French Enlightenment treats the development of linguistic thought from Descartes to Degerando as both a part of and a determining factor in the emergence of modern consciousness. Through his careful analyses of works by the most influential thinkers of the time, Ulrich Ricken demonstrates that the central significance of language in the philosophy of the enlightenment, reflected and acted upon contemporary understandings of humanity as a whole. The author discusses contemporary developments in England, Germany and Italy and covers an unusually broad range of writers and ideas including Leibniz, Wolff, Herder and Humboldt. This study places history of language philosophy within the broader context of the history of ideas, aesthetics and historical anthropology and will be of interest to scholars working in these disciplines.

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;