Tomasza Hobbesa koncepcja języka

Abstract

A seventeenth century philosopher-nominalist Thomas Hobbes's attitudes to a language are the subject of this article. Believing that there is a need to create a new philosophy competitive to scholastic approach, he adopts reasoning based on a deduction method amounting to calculation, adding (or deducting) a statement to a statement, a name to name as its basis. Assuming that the condition of correct reasoning is precise establishment of the meaning of the name being defined, he postulates a language reform that would involve clearing the language of ambiguous and unclear words. He believes that such language reform should not only heal philosophy and have favorable impact upon the quality of public discourse, but also eliminate social and political conflicts.