“Although languages originated virtually by chance, and according to the needs and purposes of men, they are nevertheless founded on that natural logic that operates in the human mind, even without a distinct knowledge of its rules. For we speak for no reason other than to express the mind’s operations on the objects of our ideas. This is why the rules of grammar are nearly the same in all nations that have a grammar, for the operations of the mind are the same in all regions.” — Émilie Du Châtelet, Grammaire raisonnée, Chapter 6: On the Grammatical Signification of Words in General
Join an international community of students and scholars at the Libori Summer School 2025 and take part in a week of lively discussion and discovery. In her Grammaire raisonnée, she examines how words signify ideas, Du Châtelet shows that the structure of language mirrors the logic embedded in our thinking.
“Although languages originated virtually by chance, and according to the needs and purposes of men, they are nevertheless founded on that natural logic that operates in the human mind, even without a distinct knowledge of its rules. For we speak for no reason other than to express the mind’s operations on the objects of our ideas. This is why the rules of grammar are nearly the same in all nations that have a grammar, for the operations of the mind are the same in all regions.”