A Matter of Method: Lambert ten Kate’s New Methods in the Study of Language and the Natural Philosophical Method of Isaac Newton

The Amsterdam-based self-educated polymath Lambert ten Kate (1674-1731) was well versed in different subjects. His contributions to the study of language and the new methods he employed to pursue it are the focus of this article. Ten Kate was well in tune with the natural philosophical developments of his day. Unsurprisingly, it has been argued that the methods he developed in the study of language were inspired by Isaac Newton’s (1643-1727) natural philosophical approach. I argue that a more nuanced understanding of the relation between Ten Kate’s methods in the study of language and Newton’s natural philosophical approach is called for.