Gerrit Mannoury

Born May 17, 1867, in Wormerveer; died Jan. 30, 1956, in Amsterdam. Dutch philosopher, logician, and mathematician. Professor at the University of Amsterdam (1918-37).

Mannoury is one of (the founders of signifies. His principal works deal with the analysis of language as the manifestation of the life of individuals and social groups and as a means of communication, with all the psychological features that accompany it. In his examination of the entire thought content, Mannoury distinguished objective elements of meaning—concepts—that refer to the object of thought, and the subjective elements— emotion and will—that refer to what is potentially present in thought. Depending on the predominance of either the objective or subjective elements of meaning, Mannoury distinguished five stages of linguistic communication, or the five forms of language.

Mannoury’s social and political views were influenced by Marxist ideas. He sympathized with the struggle of the working class and considered it the beginning of a new era in which the social meaning of human existence would be entirely revealed.