Knowledge and Language in the Modern Age

Knowledge in the Modern Age

The understanding of reality in the modern age shifted from passive reception of sensory information to an active role of the subject in constructing knowledge.

Two Positions in Modernity

1. Empiricism: Knowledge originates and culminates in experience derived from sensory information. The empiricist view posits the human mind as a blank slate upon which knowledge is imprinted.
2. Rationalism: The mind constructs reality through reason, distrusting sensory information and seeking innate ideas. Senses play a secondary role in this theory.
3. Kant's Conciliatory Position: Senses provide the raw material of knowledge, but human reason organizes it in a specific way common to all.

From Sensation to Concepts

Sensations

All beings share the commonality of sensitivity to external stimuli. While the sensitivity of each organism manifests differently, sensory organs are the structures through which the nervous system interacts with the world.

Perception

For humans, perception is the process of elaborating, organizing, and interpreting information from the surrounding environment. Sensations are assimilated and given meaning.

Concepts

Thinking represents objects using concepts. A concept is a mental and symbolic representation of an object, abstracting from its concrete and individual features to capture shared characteristics.

The Social Construction of Knowledge

Humans possess a repertoire of animal instincts, but also a greater capacity for learning, particularly in early life. This learning process always occurs within a social context that provides a specific order. Through socialization, individuals internalize social norms, habits, and ethical/moral rules.

Language acquisition is crucial in this process, introducing ideas shared by group members.

Animal Language vs. Human Language

1. Innateness: While it was initially believed that human language is innate and animal language is learned, some animals demonstrate the ability to learn new codes.
2. Mimicry: Animal language is often attributed to mimicry. Human communication, however, encompasses three distinct designs:
   1. Finite repertoire
   2. Analog signals
   3. Random variations on a theme
3. Symbolic System: Modern linguists generally consider human language, with its double articulation, to be symbolically irreducible to animal communication.

Characteristics of Human Language

1. Capacity to imbue sounds with symbolic meaning.
2. Ability to combine words to construct sentences with diverse meanings.
3. Language serves to order the world and, crucially, to communicate and transmit knowledge.

The Relationship Between Knowledge and Language

Language is a necessary instrument for understanding certain realities.

Thought Before Language

Aristotle maintained that language is an independent activity preceding language.

Language Before Thought

Thought is seen as a reflection of language acquired through social interaction. Individuals develop skills that shape their understanding of the world, which is subsequently reflected in thought.

The Complex Interplay of Thought and Language

The debate between empiricism and rationalism resurfaces in the discussion of the relationship between language and thought.

1. Empiricist Perspective: External and social environments are considered decisive factors in shaping theories.
2. Rationalist Perspective: Innate language universals and basic structures are present in all future speakers.

The Importance of Language in Contemporary Philosophy

1. A central concern of philosophy of language is establishing connections between language and reality.
2. A more pragmatic approach applies critical analysis of everyday language to philosophical inquiry.