L'origine del paradosso di Condillac nell'Essai. Analisi della struttura e della stesura dell'opera a partire da alcune considerazioni dello stesso autore

In the Essai of 1746, Condillac expressed the paradox that signs and ideas presuppose each other. In this paper, after closely examining the most problematic elements related to Condillac’s linguistics, we offer a reconstruction of the genesis of this paradox through an analysis of the work’s structure, based on the author’s reflections on the drafting, modifications, and revisions of the text. The analysis reveals a continuous oscillation between two functions of language: a broader one, where language is the very foundation of the origin of ideas and reflection, and a more restricted one, tied to the development of the soul’s operations. These internal revisions demonstrate shifts and reassessments regarding the principle of ideas, allowing us to better identify passages from the second part of the text that were later moved to the first. This reworking highlights Condillac’s evolving thought on the interplay between signs and ideas, offering a richer and more nuanced understanding of the linguistic and cognitive dynamics at play in the work.