Editor's Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Prelim pages i
2. Acknowledgements vii
3. Table of contents ix
4. Editor's Introduction xiii
5. I. John Wilkins (1614-1672)
6. John Wilkins 3
7. II. Wilkins and the 17th-century Reconciliation of Science, Religion, and Language
8. John Wilkins' Essay Toward a Real Character 45
9. Dr. Wilkins and the Royal Society 69
10. The Ross-Wilkins Controversy 95
11. John Wilkins and the Royal Society's Reform of Prose Style 133
12. III. The Sources of Wilkins' Philosophical Language
13. Comenius and the Real Character in England 155
14. The Sources and Development of John Wilkins' Philosophical Language 169
15. On the Sources of John Wilkins' Philosophical Language 183
16. Language Universals and 17th-Century Universal Schemes 191
17. IV. Theory and Practice in Wilkins' Philosophical Language
18. 'Philosophical' Grammar in Wilkins' Essay 207
19. On the Project of a Universal Character 237
20. The Real Character of Bishop Wilkins 253
21. Wilkin's Natural Grammar 263
22. V. Wilkins' Classification of Reality
23. John Wilkins and Noah's Ark 279
24. John Wilkins' Linguistic Views 285
25. John Wilkins' Theory of Meaning and the Development of a Semantic Model 291
26. John Wilkins' and William Lloyd's Alphabetical Dictionary (1668) 309
27. The Significance of John Wilkins in the History of Bibliographical Classification 329
28. VI. Wilkins' Legacy
29. John Wilkins' Essay (1668) 349
30. Select Biography 365
31. Index of Biographical Names 371