Knowledge in the Mirror of Language from the Perspectives of Heidegger and Gadamer

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Author

Professor and researcher at Al-Mustafa Al-Alamiyah University

10.48308/kj.2025.240695.1334

Abstract

Knowledge, as reflected in the mirror of language, reveals a profound and enigmatic connection between existence and consciousness—where language is not merely a tool for transmitting meaning, but rather a constitutive field of truth and a creator of meaning. This article, employing a descriptive-analytical method, examines and analyzes the concept of knowledge in the mirror of language from the perspectives of Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer. The findings indicate that knowledge in language is not a passive reflection of reality, but rather the creation of truth within the realm of discourse. Language is a living, fluid, and self-generating entity that both reveals and structurally shapes knowledge. Thus, the relationship between language and knowledge is interdependent and reciprocal: language enables the understanding of being while simultaneously being imbued with historical and cultural presuppositions. Every form of knowledge—be it scientific, religious, philosophical, or artistic—takes shape and gains meaning within the framework of language. Therefore, language is not merely the form of thought but its very condition of possibility. The mirroring function of language concerning knowledge signifies both the potential for truth's discovery and its limitation; language opens the horizon for the manifestation of meaning to the extent of its existential capacity, yet simultaneously acts as a barrier to the totality of truth. Accordingly, knowledge cannot be comprehended without an understanding of its linguistic origins and mechanisms. Language is both a reflector and a constructor of knowledge.

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