Herder’in Dil felsefesinin Kant’ın Felsefesine Etkisi

Abstract

Bu makalede, Immanuel Kant’ın yalnızca doğa ve tarih felsefesi alanlarına değil, aynı zamanda dil felsefesine de kayda değer katkılar sunduğu ve bu bağlamda dikkate şayan iddialar ortaya koyduğu savunulacaktır. Bu temel iddiayı daha açık bir biçimde temellendirmek üzere, Kant’ın dil ile ilgilenmediğini öne sürerek onu eleştiren Johann Gottfried von Herder’in görüşlerinin tutarlılığı sorgulanacaktır. Bu doğrultuda, Herder ile Kant’ın dile ilişkin yaklaşımları mukayeseli bir yöntemle incelenecektir. Söz konusu inceleme sürecinde, öncelikle Herder’in dil ve düşünce arasındaki ilişkiyi nasıl kurduğu, dilin varlığını ve çeşitliliğini mümkün kılan faktörleri hangi şekilde belirlediği, Doğu ve Batı dilleri arasındaki ilişkileri nasıl ele aldığı ve dilin kökenine dair görüşleri ayrıntılı biçimde analiz edilecektir. Ardından, Kant’ın yalnızca Kritik dönemine ait eserleri değil, aynı zamanda Kritik öncesi ve sonrası metinleri de göz önünde bulundurularak, onun dil ve düşünce ilişkisini hangi çerçevede ele aldığı tahlil edilecektir. Böylelikle, Herder’in iddialarının aksine Kant’ın dil konusunda sessiz kalmadığı; aksine farklı dönemlerinde dil ve düşünceye dair çeşitli ve farklı vurgulara sahip olduğu ortaya konulmaya çalışılacaktır. Bu bağlamda makalede, Kant’ın Herder ile dil ve düşünce konusunda kimi noktalarda benzer iddialar dile getirdiği, hâttâ Herder’in “akıl üzerine düşünen bir filozofun dil ile ilgilenmemesini çelişkili bulduğu” yönündeki eleştirisinin temelsiz olduğu ve bu bağlamda Herder’in itirazlarının ikna edici bir dayanağa sahip olmadığı gösterilecektir. Bununla birlikte, makalede Kant’ın çağdaş yorumcularının bir kısmının ileri sürdüğünün aksine, Kant’ın spesifik ve sistematik bir “transandantal dil teorisi” inşa etmediği de ortaya konulacaktır.

Keywords

• Kant
• Herder
• dil
• düşünce
• transandantal

The Influence of Herder’s Philosophy of Language on Kant’s Philosophy

Abstract

In this article, I contend that Immanuel Kant offered not only substantial contributions to natural philosophy and the philosophy of history but also noteworthy insights into the philosophy of language, advancing claims that warrant serious attention in this regard. To substantiate this central argument more explicitly, I will examine the consistency of Johann Gottfried von Herder’s critique, which rests on the claim that Kant did not concern himself with language. In this respect, the article undertakes a comparative investigation of Herder’s and Kant’s approaches to language. The analysis will first focus on how Herder conceived the relation between language and thought, the factors by which he sought to explain the existence and diversity of languages, the manner in which he addressed the relations between Eastern and Western languages, and his views concerning the origin of language. Subsequently, by taking into account not only Kant’s writings from the Critical period but also his pre-Critical and post-Critical texts, the article will examine the framework within which Kant engaged with the relation between language and thought. In this way, it will be shown that, contrary to Herder’s assertions, Kant did not remain silent on the matter of language but, rather, developed a variety of perspectives and emphases on language and thought across different stages of his philosophical development. In this context, the article demonstrates that Kant, at certain points, articulated claims that parallel those of Herder, thereby revealing that Herder’s charge—that it is inconsistent for a philosopher of reason to disregard language—is unfounded and lacks persuasive justification. At the same time, however, the article also shows that, contrary to what some contemporary commentators have suggested, Kant did not construct a specific and systematic “transcendental theory of language.

Keywords

• Kant
• Herder
• language
• thought
• transcendental

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