Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language

work by Wilkins

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June 26, 2026

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John Wilkins, a 17th-century philosopher, authored An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language (1668). This work was an early endeavor to establish a universal language. As part of this goal, Wilkins proposed significant changes to English orthography, aiming for a precise and unambiguous system, in contrast to the vagaries of ordinary language. His proposed changes can be seen in his rendering of passages like The Lord's Prayer, where he altered spellings to reflect a more phonetic or logical structure.12

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…in Bishop John Wilkins, whose Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language was published in 1668. A plan of this sort was carried out by Peter Mark Roget with his Thesaurus, published in 1852 and many times reprinted and reedited. Although philosophically oriented, Roget’s work has served the…
Read More
…in Bishop John Wilkins, whose Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language was published in 1668. A plan of this sort was carried out by Peter Mark Roget with his Thesaurus, published in 1852 and many times reprinted and reedited. Although philosophically oriented, Roget’s work has served the…
Read More