Plato and Heideggerâs Views on Language: a Comparative Study

Abstract

This paper intends to carry out a comparative study on Plato and Heidegger’s views on language. What allows such a comparison is that according to both Plato and Heidegger, the question of language is connected with the question of Being. In other words, they study the nature of language "in its relation to Being". Therefore, both Plato and Heidegger believe the true nature of language is "revealing and disclosing the Being or beings". However, their difference liesin their apparently similar attitudes towards the nature of language because the procedure of disclosure of Being in language, and the limits of this disclosure are different according to each of these two thinkers. This difference has finally its root in their fundamental views on man, Being, and their relationship