Transparent Language and Opaque Intellect

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Other Title
  • 透明な言語・不透明な知性
  • 透明な言語・不透明な知性--コメニウス『光の道』における光のメタファー
  • トウメイナ ゲンゴ フトウメイナ チセイ コメニウス ヒカリ ノ ミチ ニ オケル ヒカリ ノ メタファー
  • The Metaphor of Light in J. A. Comenius' <I>The Way of Light</I>
  • コメニウス『光の道』における光のメタファー

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Abstract

This paper examined J. A. Comenius' The Way of Light as a theory of language in the metaphor of light, one that is crucially related of cognition of things.<BR>In The Way of Light, Comenius expresses the world and human beings in a metaphor of light. External light illuminates all things and clarifies every thing. It overcomes every darkness in the world. On the other hand, Internal light means intellectual light in particular. This light overcomes darkness of ignorance in soul, and intellect has an opaque characteristic. Opaque intellect receives light, blocks its further penetration, keeps the truth of things within itself, and reflects and scatters it around the world again. It can be said that working of this intellect is a function of the language. From the point of view of human history, Comenius said that the scatter of light spreads through cognition, conversation, a meeting of a church, books, printing and the art of navigation. Furthermore, this process is expansion of education to give light for human mind.<BR>Comenius considers the cognition of things from the perspective of light because he has an assumption that every visible thing in the world has truth of God. And ideal universal language is designed as a medium to represent the truth of things.<BR>In other words, what is considered as the language in Comenius has triplex meanings : a language that articulates the light as opaque intellect, a language as the world itself has, and a transparent language that represents the world. These triplex meanings of language are deeply related to the educational thought of Comenius.

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