Universal Languages and Scientific Taxonomy in the Seventeenth Century

by M. M. Slaughter

Overview

In the seventeenth century, a series of proposals and schemes for an artificial language intended to replace Latin as the international medium of communication gained currency. Fully developed, these schemes consisted of a classification of all known 'things' and a set of self-defining names designed to reflect the divisions of the classification. This attempt to create a specialized and scientific form of language was enthusiastically taken up by a number of eminent scientists of the day, including Bacon, Descartes, Newton and other members of the Royal Society. Dr Slaughter demonstrates that the idea of a universal language was a rational response to the inadequacy of seventeenth-century language, a result of social and cultural changes precipitated by the rise of science, the spread of print and literacy, and the subsequent development of a literate culture. A valuable addition to the study of history and literature, this book also has relevance for contemporary languages with similar problems of development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521135443
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/04/2010
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. The Rise of Essentialist Taxonomy: 1. The Aristotelian origins; 2. Taxonomy; 3. Nomenclature; Part II. The Development of the Universal Languages: 4. The groundwork; 5. Proposals and schemes for a universal language; 6. Proposals for a philosophical language; 7. Schemes for a philosophical language; 8. The culmination, aftermath and end; Part III. The End of the Taxonomic Episteme: 9. The fall of essentialist taxonomy; Notes; Bibliography; Index.