Walter Benjamin's Metaphysics of Language

Abstract

This study examines Walter Benjamin's metaphysical conception of language through his essay On Language as Such and on the Language of Man, highlighting the religious and philosophical foundations of his linguistic thought. It argues that Benjamin, influenced by Jewish theological tradition and German Romanticism, conceives language as a spiritual essence that transcends its merely communicative function. According to Benjamin, all beings participate in language, each expressing its own mode of existence. The study explains his distinction between divine language, the language of nature, and human language, emphasizing that naming is not an act of creation but a means of revealing the spiritual essence of things. It further analyzes the significance of the Babel narrative, which symbolizes the fragmentation of languages and their transformation into instrumental means of communication detached from truth. The study concludes that Benjamin's philosophy seeks to restore the original revelatory function of language while acknowledging the historical and social dimensions that increasingly shaped his later reflections on language.