Knowlegde, language and communication. Otto Neurath’s enlightened ideals and the ISOTYPE system of visual education

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relations between knowledge, language and communication within the framework of Neurath's philosophical and political program. We draw specifically a parallel between the adoption of the physicalist language as the basic language of science and the development of ISOTYPE visual education system. We defend the idea that they maintain a reciprocal relation with each other that makes possible the exchange of factual information and the transformation of verbal statements into visual statements, and vice versa. This reciprocal relation is also based on a number of shared features. In this regard, we consider that both are conceived as thing-languages and both play a pedagogical and political role which is to enable communication between science and society. For Neurath, this role also involves a model of communication focused in the humanization of knowledge and the democratization of decisions.