The aim of the present text is to consider 18th century language genealogies, as proposed by Rousseau and Condillac, in relation to the question of gesture and affectivity. For it seems that a certain form of affect - need in Condillac, passion in Rousseau - comes to play a central role in the speculations concerning the possible origin of human communication whose nature is invariably considered to be gestural as well as vocal. Our aim will be to show that the insights both thinkers present on the subject corresponds, quite remarkably, with certain findings of modern linguistics and psychology. It is, of course, impossible to treat the issue in all its complexity; all that we will attempt to do is concentrate on certain significant passages and pinpoint what we consider to be the most remarkable arguments., Josef Fulka., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Th is article proposes some refl ections on the status of the quadrivium in the epistles X–XIV of one of the best known encyclopaedia of the Brethren of Purity Rasā’il, by reconstructing the implied methodology of how the quadrivium is applied within a theoretic philosophy and therefore how all these aspects concur in order to obtain demonstrations that are in complete cohesion with soundness. Following a hermeneutical methodology, this research explores the ways to get to the universal truth and how exactly one arrives to it. Th e fi rst part explains what perceived science is and what its defi ning features are, while the second part illustrates a distribution of the application of the quadrivium in relation with what the Brethren of Purity established as methods of acquiring knowledge. Finally, the last part evaluates some examples that can be traced from a ground of the quadrivial disciplines in order to show how some elements of formal logic are evaluated. and Článek nabízí refl exi statusu kvadrivia v listech X–XIV jedné z nejznámějších encyklopedií Bratrstva čistoty Rasā’il a rekonstruuje v ní zahrnutou metodologii užívání kvadrivia v rámci teoretické fi losofi e, tedy jak v něm jsou získávány naprosto korektní důkazy. Pomocí hermeneutické metodologie jsou zkoumány způsoby, jak se přibližovat k obecné pravdě a jak přesně k ní jednotlivci dospívají. První část vysvětluje, co je to empirická věda a jaké jsou její určující rysy, zatímco druhá část dokládá, jak Bratrstvo čistoty nahlíželo na rozličná užití kvadrivia jako na metody vedoucí k poznání. Závěrečná část hodnotí některé příklady, které lze nalézt v samotných základech kvadriviálních disciplín a demonstruje na nich, jak je v nich využita formální logika.