Hans-Georg
Gadamer (left) and
Martin
Heidegger (right) working in the Black Forest, Germany, 1923.
|
Aristotle established the classical definition of man, according to which
man is the living being who has logos. In the tradition of the West, this definition
became canonical in a form which stated that man is the animal rationale, the
rational being, distinguished from all other animals by his capacity for thought.
Thus it rendered the Greek word logos as reason or thought. In truth, however,
the primary meaning of this word is language.... The word logos means not only
thought and language, but also concept and law.
~
Hans-Georg Gadamer, "Man and Language" 1966
|
