哈曼（Johann Georg Hamann, 1730-1788）經常被認為是一位非理性的宗教神秘主義者，但事實上，透過對於康德的《純粹理性批判》與赫德的《論語言的起源》所做的語文學後設批判，哈曼開創了一種以詞語的啟示與傳統為基礎的先驗語言學構想。透過對於哈曼的〈理性純粹主義的後設批判〉與〈語文學的想法與懷疑〉等主要著作的分析，本文將指出，哈曼的語文學後設批判，不僅使他能夠透過詞語在語言接受性中的啟示作用與在概念自發性中的傳統用法，超克康德在純粹理性構想中對於感性與知性所做的割裂；他並因而能說明語言的本質，即在於它具有開顯世界的詮釋學功能與建立人際互動關係的語用學功能。哈曼將語言視為人最根源的存在方式，這使得他最終可以說明，人類本性的自由即在於他內在具有的超越性與社群性。

The philosophical and linguistic writings of Johann Georg Hamann foreshadowed and impacted generations of thinkers, but today he is mostly unknown. Through a reexamination of his “philological metacritique” of Kant’s transcendental philosophy and Herder’s theory of human origin of language this paper tries to present Hamann’s views on the nature of language, which include his emphasis on the essential character of revelation and tradition in words. Hamann justified two important principles in the philosophy of language: that thought is essentially dependent on language, and that meaning should be identified with usages of words. He also linked the “receptivity of language” and “spontaneity of concepts” with a vision of linguistic revelation and tradition through one’s own nation, so that he can overcome the dichotomy between sensibility and understanding in Kant’s solipsism of pure reason. Drawing upon Hamann’s writings, this paper will conclude with some important points relevant to understanding current hermeneutic and pragmatic philosophy.