Abstract

The subject of this work is Maine de Biran’s theory about nature, origin and function of language, and about signs in general. Such theoretical reflection is a not very well explored aspect of Biran’s thought, whereas it is extremely important because of its connections with Biran’s doctrine of the active nature of human being. In the present article we have tried to make a reconstruction of this reflection that shows in deep the connections between Biran’s thought and the doctrines of his main interlocutors: Condillac, Maupertuis, Rousseau, Destutt de Tracy