Language in Mind

Abstract

Abstract Viewed from a modern perspective, the universe of signs that Ramon Llull describes seems naively anthropocentric: he attributes to every entity a value relevant only to human beings. Llull’s universe is not only anthropocentric but also intensely logocentric: each entity’s value consists chiefly in its contribution to the human soul’s experience of truth. That experience is the central concern of all Llull’s projects for evangelism, moral reform, and spiritual perfection. Consequently, his writings devote more attention to questions of epistemology and psychology than to almost all other philosophical topics. Both logically and practically, his concern for the soul’s experience of truth precedes his interest in the arts of eloquence. Hence, the artful exercise of language is always a means to an end for Llull. Of course, we might say the same for Augustine or Cicero, insofar as they regard eloquence not as an end in itself, but as an instrument for persuading, instructing, and delighting. Llull could probably accept these broad classical objectives of eloquence and even the methods employed to achieve them, but he would understand them strictly according to his own general principles of epistemology and psychology. Like most aspects of Llull’s work, his theories of knowledge and mind await comprehensive study.