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Johann Georg Hamann's Theological Language View in the Context of His Criticism of Kant

Sayı: 24 18 Ocak 2026
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Johann Georg Hamann's Theological Language View in the Context of His Criticism of Kant

Abstract

This study aims to examine German philosopher Johann Georg Hamann's view of divine language within the context of the Enlightenment and his critiques of Kant. Hamann, the first thinker in the Hamann-Herder-Humboldt (3H) linguistic tradition in German thought, laid the foundations of linguistic relativity, which posits that every language influences the collective thinking of its people. Against the rationalist and dualist views of the Enlightenment, he argued that language is not a byproduct of reason, but a divine faculty bestowed by God. In this sense, Hamann advanced a radical thesis, incorporating his theological understanding of language into a monist one, which posits that reason, language, and thought are a single human faculty. These ideas of the philosopher contrast sharply with Kant's understanding of "reason." According to the philosopher, Kant overlooks the essential role of language in the cognitive process and attempts to separate reason from individual experience. Hamann believed that Kant had overlooked a "middle ground" between idealism and realism and called his own philosophy "verbalism." According to this philosophy, language is the ground where both reason and experience are embodied. Furthermore, language is the organ and criterion of reason. For Hamann, language plays a fundamental role in understanding the structure of reality, as opposed to rationalism, which seeks to separate what nature unites, and thus to Kant and the Enlightenment philosophy.

Keywords

Kaynakça

  1. Alexander, W. M. (1966a). Johann Georg Hamann: Philosophy and faith. Martinus Nijhoff.
  2. Alexander, W. M. (1966b). Johann Georg Hamann: Metacritic of Kant. Journal of the History of Ideas, 27(1), 137–144. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2708314
  3. Ameriks, K. (Ed.). (2000). The Cambridge companion to German idealism. Cambridge University Press.
  4. Anderson, A. (1969). Philosophical obscurantism: Prolegomena to Hamann's views on language. Harvard Theological Review, 62(3), 247–274. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1509371
  5. Berlin, I. (2013). Three critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder (H. Hardy, Ed.; 2nd ed.). Princeton University Press.
  6. Betz, J. R. (2009). After enlightenment: The post-secular vision of J. G. Hamann. Wiley-Blackwell.
  7. Brown, R. L. (1967). Wilhelm von Humboldt’s conception of linguistic relativity. Mouton.
  8. Butts, R. E. (1988). The grammar of reason: Hamann's challenge to Kant. Synthese, 75(2), 251–283. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20116530

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Dil Felsefesi

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

18 Ocak 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

1 Ekim 2025

Kabul Tarihi

10 Ocak 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Sayı: 24

Kaynak Göster

APA
Daşdemir, Y. (2026). Johann Georg Hamann’s Theological Language View in the Context of His Criticism of Kant. Erzurum Teknik Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 24, 96-108. https://doi.org/10.29157/etusbed.1795045

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