Philosophy of language Books

Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringOur ability to find meaning in things is one of the most important aspects of human life. But it is also one of the most mysterious. Where does meaning come from? What sorts of things have meaning? And how do we grasp the meaning others want to convey? This Very Short Introduction is shaped by exploring possible answers to these questions.Human societies have one particularly important device for expressing and sharing meaning: language. Since our words are paradigm examples of things which have meaning, in this book, Emma Borg and Sarah Fisher use meaning in language as a case study for exploring meaning more generally. They focus on three possible sources for word meaning: things in the world, things in the mind, and social practices, exploring the key approaches thinkers have put forward in each of these arenas. Finally, they end by looking at some concrete applications of the ideas and approaches introduced in the book.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLudwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original philospher, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking goes well beyond philosophy itself. In this book, which aims to make Wittgenstein''s thought accessible to the general non-specialist reader, A. C. Grayling explains the nature and impact of Wittgenstein''s views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein''s continuing influence on contemporary thought. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewLucidly and attractively written. * Heythrop Journal *Anyone wanting to come to grips with the later Wittgenstein's views on philosophy, his beliefs about the nature of thought and language, and his many unignorable (if sometimes muddled and often muddling) ideas in the philosophy of the mind could do no better than start here. * Guardian *[Grayling] is to be congratulated on the success of his enterprise in a book which is a model of expository elgance ... an admirably clear and concise introduction * Philosophical Books *Table of ContentsTHE EARLY PHILOSOPHY; THE LATER PHILOSOPHY

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis textbook/software package covers first-order language in a method appropriate for a wide range of courses, from first logic courses for undergraduates (philosophy, mathematics, and computer science) to a first graduate logic course. The accompanying online grading service instantly grades solutions to hundreds of computer exercises. The second edition of "Language, Proof and Logic" represents a major expansion and revision of the original package and includes applications for mobile devices, additional exercises, a dedicated website, and increased software compatibility and support.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Marvellously clear... playfully persuasive' Richard Dawkins'Full of Fascinating details. A delight to read.' Tim Harford'Highly original and convincing ... a delight to read!' - Daniel EverettWhat is language?Why do we have it?Why does that matter?Language is perhaps humanity's most astonishing accomplishment and one that remains poorly understood.Upending centuries of scholarship (including, most recently, Chomsky and Pinker) The Language Game shows how people learn to talk not by acquiring fixed meanings and rules, but by picking up, reusing, and recombining countless linguistic fragments in novel ways.Drawing on entertaining and persuasive examples from across the world the book explains:· How our short-lived memory copes with the on-rushing deluge of sound that is everyday speech.· Why it is that language is such a challenge for language scientists but learnt effortlessly by toddlers.· Why the languages of the world are so spectacularly varied---and why no two people speak quite the same language.· Why humans have language, but chimps don't.· How language gave us a big brain and changed the course of evolution.· How language doesn't limit, but does shape, how we think.·And ultimately, why all we know about language should give us hope.Christiansen and Chater's The Language Game draws on a fascinating range of examples to show the way language works, has shaped our evolution and is critical to our future.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInventors in the age of the Enlightenment created lifelike androids capable of playing music on real instruments. Music and the Forms of Lifeexamines the link between such simulated life and music, which began in the era's scientific literature and extended into a series of famous musical works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Music invented auditory metaphors for the scientific elements of life (drive, pulse, sensibility, irritability, even metabolism), investigated the affinities and antagonisms between life and mechanism, and explored questions of whether and how mechanisms can come to life. The resulting changes in the conceptions of both life and music had wide cultural resonance at the time, and those concepts continued to evolve long after. A critical part of that evolution was a nineteenth-century shift in focus from moving androids to the projection of life in motion, culminating in the invention of cinema. Weaving together cultural and musical practices, Lawrence Kramer trTable of ContentsContents List of Musical Examples and Figures Introduction: Music and the Life of Statues 1 • From Clockwork to Pulsation I: Intensity and Drive 2 • From Clockwork to Pulsation II: Action and Feeling 3 • From Clockwork to Pulsation III: Metabolism 4 • 1812 Overtures: Wellington’s Victory and Live Action 5 • “Dear Listener” . . . : Music and the Invention of Subjectivity 6 • Waltzing Specters: Life, Perception, and Ravel’s “La Valse” 7 • The Musical Biome Epilogue: Sound and the Forms of Life Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisLanguage typology identifies similarities and differences between languages of the world. This textbook provides an introduction to the subject which assumes minimal prior knowledge of linguistics. It offers the broadest coverage of any introductory book, with sections on historical change, language acquisition and language processing.Trade Review'Textbooks like Moravcsik's Introducing Language Typology are hard to find. In a clear, logical and readable style, she introduces students not only to the basic concepts and methods in linguistic typology but also to the fundamentals of linguistics. This textbook will be appreciated and loved by students and lecturers alike for many years to come.' Jae Jung Song, University of Otago'An excellent, and highly needed introduction to linguistic typology, not only for courses that specifically focus on typology, but for all those who want to present linguistic issues in a typological perspective. It leads readers step by step from every day experience to more abstract realms of linguistics. It includes topics that are often neglected in introductory treatments of typology, such as phonology and the lexicon. The wealth of data from different languages makes the book easily usable as support for teaching across different theoretical frameworks.' Silvia Luraghi, University of PaviaTable of Contents1. What is language typology?; 2. The worlds of words; 3. Assembling words; 4. Dissembling words; 5. The sounds of languages; 6. Language in flux; 7. Explaining crosslinguistic preferences.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOpening the door for beginners who seek a thorough grounding in the first arts of human understanding, this book explains the nature of logic, grammar, and rhetoric -- the three of the seven liberal arts -- and how they relate to one another. In Renaissance universities, the trivium (literally, the crossing of three part way) formed the essence of the liberal arts curriculum. Examined are topics such as the nature and function of language, distinguishing general grammar from special grammar, the study of logic and its relationship to grammar and rhetoric, and applying the concepts of logic, grammar, and rhetoric to literary works.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA fascinating and philosophical exploration of animal intelligence and the way animals communicate with each other, and us.Trade ReviewA fascinating and accessible new book about how animals communicate * Guardian *Fascinating stories and there is much to learn from them . . . Meijer proves that many animals are sophisticated, more intelligent than we may have assumed and often surprising * Spectator *Eva Meijer is on a mission to redefine the relationship between humans and animals . . . a bold and progressive vision of a future just beyond the horizon in which humankind gets better at sharing the Earth by simply learning how to listen * Herald *Fascinating . . . offers insight into the methods different species use to communicate with each other * Daily Mail *Overflowing with fabulously entertaining anecdotes * Strong Words *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Brilliant. Searching and profound'' E.H. Carr, Times Literary Supplement''When reading Isaiah Berlin we breathe an altogether different air'' New York Review of Books''Beautifully written'' W. H. Auden, New Yorker''Ingenious. Exactly what good critical writing should be'' Max Beloff, GuardianThe fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.For Isaiah Berlin, there is a fundamental distinction in mankind: those who are fascinated by the infinite variety of things - foxes - and those who relate everything to a central all-embracing system - hedgehogs. It can be applied to the greatest creative minds: Dante, Ibsen and Proust are hedgehogs, while Shakespeare, Aristotle and Joyce are foxes.Yet when Berlin reaches the case of Tolstoy, he finds a fox by nature, but a hedgehog by conviction; a duality which holds the key to understanding Tolstoy''sTrade ReviewBrilliant ... searching and profound * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *This little book is so entertaining, as well as acute, that the reader hardly notices that it is learned too * OBSERVER *Very readable, with a lively honed down style * SUNDAY MERCURY *The most important study of Tolstoy's thought written in English for a long time * THE LISTENER *Delightful to read * SUNDAY TIMES *[Berlin] has a deep and subtle feeling for the puzzle of Tolstoy's personality, and he writes throughout ... with a wonderful eloquence * NEW YORK TIMES *Beautifully written and suggestive -- W H Auden * NEW YORKER *Berlin's stunning command of the resources of scholarship, his sensitivity to literature and to character, and his eloquence as a writer give this essay the lustre of a virtuoso performance * ATLANTIC *The argument is ingenious and subtle, full of overtones - exactly what good critical writing should be * GUARDIAN *very readable, with a lively honed down style * SUNDAY MERCURY *

Read more less

Book SynopsisRoland Barthes was born in 1915 and studied French literature and classics at the University of Paris. After teaching French at universities in Romania and Egypt, he joined the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, where he devoted himself to research in sociology and lexicology. He was a professor at the College de France until his death in 1980.Trade ReviewLove, here, is a state of the imagination, with the lover desperate to interpret the dire ambiguities inseparable from his role. This is a speculative book, and a melancholy one, an exploration of the idiom of anxiety. Barthes's love is a passion in the old, suffering sense of the word * Observer *May be the most detailed, painstaking anatomy of desire that we are ever likely to see or need again... All readers will find something they recognize in Barthes' recreation of the lover's fevered consciousness: The book is an ecstatic celebration of love and language and...readers interested in either or both...will enjoy savouring its rich and dark delights * Washington Post Book World *Barthes's work, along with that of Wilde and Valéry, gives being an aesthete a good name... Defending the senses, he never betrayed the mind -- Susan Sontag

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume makes available in English leading philosopher, Jacques Derrida's reflections on the individual's relationship with his or her own language.Trade Review"In this elegant and engaging essay, Derrida turns to the subject of Derrida as Algerian Jew and as a dissociated Francophone."—The Front Table"Clearly, Derrida is bravely turning away from decades of structuralist thinking that made even the slightest hint of transcendence into an intellectual taboo."—Substance"Derrida has produced a text which takes philosophy and autobiography into the closest possible proximity; yet the result is something far more significant than the personal reminiscences of a philosopher."—Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsMonolingualism of the other or, The prosthesis of origin Epilogue Notes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book offers a concise but comprehensive entry-level guide to the study of meaning in context. There can be a big difference between what a speaker says and what they mean - i.e. between literal meaning and intended meaning. A speaker who says I need coffee can mean anything from ''Please buy more coffee'' to ''I''m really sleepy''. How is a hearer to know? In this book, Betty Birner explores how we get from what is said to what is meant, from the perspective of both the speaker and the hearer, dealing with a range of context-dependent issues in language along the way: literal and non-literal meaning, implicature, speech acts, reference, definiteness, presupposition, and information structure. She reveals how language users can infer each other''s meanings using not just what is being said but also the context and an assumption of rationality and cooperation. This slim guide summarizes the most important and foundational theories in the field of linguistic pragmatics, illustrated with plenty of real-life examples, and including a helpful glossary of key terms. Written in a lively and accessible style, the book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from undergraduate and graduate students of pragmatics to general readers interested in how we successfully communicate with one another.Trade ReviewSumming up, Pragmatics: A slim guide is a valuable tool for anyone interested in the study of pragmatics. * Nicolas Ruytenbeek, Ghent University, Linguist List *Just what a slim guide should be: brisk, authoritative, even-handed, accessible, entertaining. Birner deftly traverses the theoretical and empirical landscape of contemporary pragmatics from (non-)literality to speech acts, from presupposition to implicature, from reference to information structure, enlivened at each stop with illustrative data from Poe's tales to political innuendo. * Laurence R. Horn, Yale University *Combining elegant exposition and well-chosen examples, this book serves not only to introduce the study of pragmatics to a new audience, but also to shed new light on several widely-discussed topics. * Chris Cummins, University of Edinburgh *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Literal vs. non-literal meaning 3: Implicature 4: Speech acts 5: Reference 6: Definiteness and anaphora 7: Presupposition 8: Information structure 9: New directions 10: Conclusion Glossary

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis element investigates Ludwig Wittgenstein's engagement with ethics in both early and later thinking. Starting from the remarks on ethics in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and the framing of these remarks, it presents two influential approaches to Tractarian ethics.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis Element presents a concise and accessible view of the central arguments of Wittgenstein''s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Starting from the difficulties found in historical and current debates, drawing on the background of Russell''s philosophy, and grounded in the ladder structure expressed in the numbering system of the book, this Element presents the central arguments of the Tractatus in three lines of thought. The first concerns the role of the so-called ''ontology'' and its relationship to the method of the Tractatus and its logical symbolism, which displays the formal essence of language and world. The second deals with the symbolic unity of language and its role in the ''ladder structure'' and explains how and why the book is not self-defeating. The third elucidates Wittgenstein''s claim to have solved in essentials all philosophical problems, whose very formulation, he says, rests on misunderstandings.Table of Contents1. Readings of the Tractatus and How to Read It; 2. Method, Analysis, and 'Ontology'; 3. Ladder Lessons 1: Formal Unity, Symbolism, and No Self-defeat; 4. Ladder Lessons 2: Problems of Philosophy Solved in Essentials; References.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe perception of what he calls ''aspects'' preoccupied Wittgenstein and gave him considerable trouble in his final years. The Wittgensteinian aspect defies any number of traditional philosophical dichotomies: the aspect is neither subjective (inner, metaphysically private) nor objective; it presents perceivable unity and sense that are (arguably) not (yet) conceptual; it is ''subject to the will'', but at the same time is normally taken to be genuinely revelatory of the object perceived under it. This Element begins with a grammatical and phenomenological characterization of Wittgensteinian ''aspects''. It then challenges two widespread ideas: that aspects are to be identified with concepts; and that aspect perception has a continuous version that is characteristic of (normal) human perception. It concludes by proposing that aspect perception brings to light the distinction between the world as perceived and the world as objectively construed, and the role we play in the constitutionTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The grammar and phenomenology of Wittgensteinian aspects; 2. Aspects and concepts; 3. Aspects as perceived internal relations; 4. Continuous aspect perception?; 5. Aspects and perceptual indeterminacy; Conclusion: the significance of aspect perception; Appendix: the natural attitude and the limitations of the Wittgensteinian grammatical investigation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis short treatise looks at how we construct a social reality from our sense impressions; at how, for example, we construct a five-pound note with all that implies in terms of value and social meaning, from the printed piece of paper we see and touch.Table of ContentsThe building blocks of social reality; creating institutional facts; language and social reality; the general theory of institutional facts part I - iteration, interaction, and logical structure; the general theory of institutional facts part II - creation, maintenance, and the hierarchy; background abilities and the explanation of social phenomena; does the real world exist? part I - attacks on realism; does the real world exist? part II - could there be a proof of external realism?; truth and correspondence.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe renowned philosopher John Searle reveals the fundamental nature of social reality. What kinds of things are money, property, governments, nations, marriages, cocktail parties, and football games? Searle explains the key role played by language in the creation, constitution, and maintenance of social reality. We make statements about social facts that are completely objective, for example: Barack Obama is President of the United States, the piece of paper in my hand is a twenty-dollar bill, I got married in London, etc. And yet these facts only exist because we think they exist. How is it possible that we can have factual objective knowledge of a reality that is created by subjective opinions? This is part of a much larger question: How can we give an account of ourselves, with our peculiar human traits DS mind, reason, freedom, society - in a world that we know independently consists of mindless, meaningless particles? How can we account for our social and mental existence in a reaTrade ReviewReview from previous edition stimulating and vigorous * Colin McGinn, New York Review of Books *Making the Social World is graced with a positive charm with which Searle confronts the cynicism if our time. * Tribune *may be recommended to newcomers to [Searle's] philosophy as a lively introductory overview of many of his current research themes and of some of his past research achievements. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Making the Social World has no doubt been greatly anticipated by Searle's many colleagues and critics, as his project has generated considerable interest. Searle's project should make a significant contribution to the philosophy of the social sciences. * Metapsychology *Table of Contents1. The Purpose of this Book ; 2. Intentionality ; 3. Collective Intentionality and the Assignment of Function ; 4. Language as Bilogical and Social ; 5. The General Theory of Institutions and Institutional Facts: Language and Social Reality ; 6. Free Will, Rationality and Institutional Facts ; 7. Deontic, Background, Political and Other

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhy should we learn more than one language?Can it change the way we think?Does it have the power to transform how we see the world?You may think you speak only one language. In fact, your mind is interpreting multiple codes of communication. Some people speak Spanish, some Mandarin. Some speak poetry, some are fluent in maths. Humans are built for multilingualism.Drawing on cutting-edge research and theory, delivered with wit and lucid insight, psycholinguist Viorica Marian explores the ways in which the mind uses multiple languages and how, in doing so, we can open the doors to unique forms of creativity, brain health and cognitive control. Every new language we speak - whether it is coding or musical notes, Hindi or Arabic - shapes how we extract and interpret information. It alters what we remember, how we perceive ourselves and those around us, how we feel, the insights we have, the decisions we make and the actions we take.The Power of Language lays bare how we use different linguistic codes to think about the world - and change our place within it. Empowering and practical, this is the perfect guide for anyone interested in how language really works.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn 25 October 1946, in a crowded room in Cambridge, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper came face to face for the first and only time. The encounter lasted only ten minutes, and did not go well. Almost immediately, rumours started to spread around the world that the two philosophers had come to blows, armed with red-hot pokers. But what really happened? Wittgenstein''s Poker engagingly winds together philosophy, history and biography into a compelling piece of detective work. It ranges from the place of assimilated Jews in fin-de-siècle Vienna, to what happens to memory under stress, to a vivid portrait of Cambridge and its eccentric set of philosophy dons, including Bertrand Russell (who acted as umpire during the altercation). At the centre of the story stand the philosophers themselves, proud, irascible, larger than life, and spoiling for a fight.''Those ten minutes shook the world of Western philosophy literally to its foundations . . . Edmonds and

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis unique introduction fully engages and clearly explains pragmatism, an approach to knowledge and philosophy that rejects outmoded conceptions of objectivity while avoiding relativism and subjectivism. It follows pragmatism's focus on the process of inquiry rather than on abstract justifications meant to appease the skeptic. According to pragmatists, getting to know the world is a creative human enterprise, wherein we fashion our concepts in terms of how they affect us practically, including in future inquiry. This book fully illuminates that enterprise and the resulting radical rethinking of basic philosophical conceptions like truth, reality, and reason.Author Cornelis de Waal helps the reader recognize, understand, and assess classical and current pragmatist contributionsfrom Charles S. Peirce to Cornel Westevaluate existing views from a pragmatist angle, formulate pragmatist critiques, and develop a pragmatist viewpoint on a specific issue.The book discusses:Table of Contents1. Introduction, 2. Peirce and the Principle of Pragmatism, 3. William James: Pragmatism and the Will to Believe, 4. The Pragmatic Humanism of F.C.S. Schiller, 5. European Reception I: France and Italy, 6. Peirce Revisited: The Normative Turn, 7. Josiah Royce and George Herbert Mead, 8. Pragmatism and the Problems of Life: Dewey, Addams, and Bourne, 9. Conceptual Pragmatism From Lewis to Davidson, 10. The European Reception Revisited, 11. The Neopragmatism of Richard Rorty, 12. Hilary Putnam: Philosophy with a Human Face, 13. Susan Haack: Reclaiming Pragmatism, 14. Legal Pragmatism, 15. Prophetic Pragmatism and Feminist Inspirations, 16. Pragmatism and the End(s) of Philosophy

Read more less

Book Synopsis"A model of popular-science writing" STEVEN POOLEWho was "the first speaker" and what was their first message?An erudite, tightly woven and beautifully written account of one of humanity's greatest mysteries - the origins of language.Drawing on evidence from many fields, including archaeology, anthropology, neurology and linguistics, Sverker Johansson weaves these disparate threads together to show how our human ancestors evolved into language users. The Dawn of Language provides a fascinating survey of how grammar came into being and the differences or similarities between languages spoken around the world, before exploring how language eventually emerged in the very remote human past.Our intellectual and physiological changes through the process of evolution both have a bearing on our ability to acquire language. But to what extent is the evolution of language dependent on genes, or on environment? How has language evolved further, and how is it changing now, in the process of globalisation? And which aspects of language ensure that robots are not yet intelligent enough to reconstruct how language has evolved? Johansson's far-reaching, authoritative and research-based approach to language is brought to life through dozens of astonishing examples, both human and animal, in a fascinatingly erudite and entertaining volume for anyone who has ever contemplated not just why we speak the way we do, but why we speak at all.Translated from the Swedish by Frank PerryTrade ReviewAn elegant intellectual thriller . . . A model of popular-science writing in its imperturbable, reasonable weighing of competing ideas . . . [A] fascinating story in its own right -- Steven Poole * Guardian *Popular science of the highest order. All the necessary ingredients are there: a well-read author, an educational mindset and good, fluent prose. * Svenska Dagbladet *A formidable educational journey . . . This is the book the linguists have needed for so long. * Expressen *Johansson writes with enthusiasm and a desire to impart his knowledge . . . The delight is contagious. * Språktidningen *A fascinating overview of human language * Smålandsposten *Women are central to the story of how humans began to use language, at least according to the fascinating hypothesis advanced by Swedish scientist Sverker Johansson in his magisterial The Dawn of Language . . . but there are many other twists and turns in this detective story of the deep past. * Telegraph *I love a book that teaches me things I didn't know while provoking in me thoughts I never had before, setting my mind racing in new directions. Such a book is The Dawn of Language by Sverker Johansson -- Richard DawkinsA very well-researched and persuasive work on how evolution shaped pre-human development, and our precursors' role in externalising language and bringing it into the world. -- Graham Elliott * The Linguist *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWriting tends to make people anxious, and with good reason. The first sentence of a job application letter can consign it to the bin. A speech intended to rouse can put a room to sleep. A mistimed tweet can cost you your job. And a letter to a beloved may aim to convey feelings of tenderness but end up making the recipient laugh rather than melt. In this complete guide to persuasive writing, Sam Leith shows how to express yourself fully across any medium, and how to maximise your chances of getting your way in every situation. From work reports to Valentine cards, and from emails of condolence to tweets of complaint, Leith lays bare the secrets to successful communication, eloquence and off- and online etiquette. How do you write a job application, a thank-you card, or an email to your bank manager, to your children's headteacher, to your clients or your boss? How do you prepare a speech to win the argument, get the vote of confidence, or embarrass the bridegroom? Getting these things right - or wrong - can be life-changing. Succinct treatments of the most general principles of style and composition, as well as examinations of specific modes of address (What is a subtweet? How do I write a moving elegy?) are accompanied by concrete and well-illustrated dos and don'ts and examples of wins and fails. Astute, sprightly and illuminating, Write to the Point will give you the skills and confidence you need to get your message across on every occasion.Trade ReviewAt last, a book on correct writing that is genuinely amusing - and not just for language nerds ... Informative and hugely entertaining, like a Scotch-soaked conversation with an eccentric, brilliant don -- Juanita Coulson * The Lady *Useful, and persuasive -- Ben East * Observer *

Read more less

Book SynopsisElementary set theory accustoms the students to mathematical abstraction, includes the standard constructions of relations, functions, and orderings, and leads to a discussion of the various orders of infinity. The material on logic covers not only the standard statement logic and first-order predicate logic but includes an introduction to formal systems, axiomatization, and model theory. The section on algebra is presented with an emphasis on lattices as well as Boolean and Heyting algebras. Background for recent research in natural language semantics includes sections on lambda-abstraction and generalized quantifiers. Chapters on automata theory and formal languages contain a discussion of languages between context-free and context-sensitive and form the background for much current work in syntactic theory and computational linguistics. The many exercises not only reinforce basic skills but offer an entry to linguistic applications of mathematical concepts. For upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students in theoretical linguistics, computer-science students with interests in computational linguistics, logic programming and artificial intelligence, mathematicians and logicians with interests in linguistics and the semantics of natural language.Table of ContentsPreface. Part A. Set Theory. 1. Basic Concepts of Set Theory. 2. Relations and Functions. 3. Properties of Relations. 4. Infinities. Appendix A1. Part B. Logic and Formal Systems. 5. Basic Concepts of Logic. 6.Statement Logic. 7. Predicate Logic. 8. Formal Systems, Axiomatization, and Model Theory. Appendix B1. Appendix BII. Part C. Algebra. 9. Basic Concepts of Algebra. 10. Operational Structures. 11. Lattices. 12. Boolean and Heyting Algebras. Part D. English as a Formal Language. 13. Basic Concepts of Formal Languages. 14. Generalized Quantifiers. 15. Intensionality. Part E. Languages, Grammars, and Automata. 16. Basic Concepts of Languages, Grammars, and Automata. 17. Finite Automata, Regular Languages and Type 3 Grammars. 18. Pushdown Automata, Context-Free Grammars and Languages. 19. Turing Machines, Recursively Enumberable Languages, and Type 0 Grammars. 20. Linear Bounded Automata, Context-Sensitive Languages and Type 1 Grammars. 21. Languages Between Context-Free and Context-Sensitive. 22. Transformational Grammars. Appendix EI. Appendix EII. Review Problems. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAristotle (384-322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who helped establish the tradition of western thought. He was a student of Plato and set up his own school of philosophy, the Lyceum. He wrote several philosophical treatises on subjects including metaphysics, ethics, politics and zoology.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewChomsky's writings invariably reflect the force of intellect and cogency of thought that befits one of the greatest thinkers of our times—this work is no exception. -- Robert May, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy & Linguistics, University of California, DavisNoam Chomsky is arguably the most influential thinker of our time, having made seminal contributions to linguistics and philosophy, as well as political and social thought. In one succinct and powerfully argued volume, he presents a synthesis of his key ideas. -- Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard UniversityNoam Chomsky launches this remarkable discussion with the age old question, "What kind of creatures are we?" Thus begins an extended inquiry into human cognition that takes him from the ancients to contemporary theorists of language and science, to politics. Chomsky's erudition is formidable, and I read his disquisition with pleasure and many "aha' moments. But what stands out for me is his wisdom; he accepts that being mere biological creatures, there is much that we can never know, and yet he is deeply empathetic with us, his fellow creatures who must struggle and try to impact our world, even though we ultimately cannot know. -- Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Graduate Center of the City University of New YorkIt's always spring in Mr. Chomsky's garden. Like John Ashbery, Noam Chomsky seems to come up with thoughts that are always fresh, unaffected by the polluting clichés that most of us inhale and exhale all day and night. To read his sentences is a life-giving elixir. -- Wallace Shawn, author, EssaysEngaging. * Library Journal *Recommended. * Choice *A rewarding and challenging read. * PsycCritiques *Differentiating between problems, which we can solve, and mysteries, which we cannot, Chomsky concludes that the relationship between brain and consciousness may well be a mystery. Still, we can explore. -- Jackson Lears * London Review of Books *This work is elemental; it touches and hints at some fundamental thoughts at the pivot of our existence and it invites the reader to pursue detailed studies of linguistics, hermeneutics, ethics, and metaphysics. Chomsky often speaks the mind of the readers. -- Editor * Prabuddha Bharata *Table of ContentsForeword1. What Is Language?2. What Can We Understand?3. What Is the Common Good?4. The Mysteries of Nature: How Deeply Hidden?NotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisPeter Adamson presents a lively introduction to six hundred years of European philosophy, from the beginning of the ninth century to the end of the fourteenth century. The medieval period is one of the richest in the history of philosophy, yet one of the least widely known. Adamson introduces us to some of the greatest thinkers of the Western intellectual tradition, including Peter Abelard, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and Roger Bacon. And the medieval period was notable for the emergence of great women thinkers, including Hildegard of Bingen, Marguerite Porete, and Julian of Norwich. Original ideas and arguments were developed in every branch of philosophy during this period - not just philosophy of religion and theology, but metaphysics, philosophy of logic and language, moral and political theory, psychology, and the foundations of mathematics and natural science.Trade ReviewAccessible and comprehensive. * Alban McCoy, The Tablet, Books of the Year 2019 *Peter Adamson's Medieval Philosophy gives fantastically compendious account of medieval philosophy. Adamson manages to be accessible, lucid, witty, incisive; luminously conveying the rambunctious ambivalences of the logic-chopping, devout, doubting, bawdy, bloodthirsty, mystical medievals. * Jane O'Grady, The Tablet *a volume that— despite its weight and heft—one could easily give to a non-philosopher as a first introduction to the field. For even the most obscure authors (such as that most prolific of medieval philosophers, Anon) and the most arcane of topics comes to life under Adamson's magic touch. But what is most impressive about the book is its sheer scope of knowledge. . . . If you want a good, light-touch, yet still not glossing over the difficulties, introduction to medieval philosophy, this is the book for you. * Sara L. Uckelman, Philosophical Quarterly *Adamson's history of medieval philosophy has, among its many merits, two great ones. First, is very clearly written and philosophically acute. . . .A second merit is that it proposes an updated interpretation of medieval philosophy, obtained by taking into account the most dominant trends present in literature. This makes Peter Adamson's volume a fine piece of work and a recommended volume. The history of medieval philosophy is investigated in its depth and full development, no significant gap can be found indeed in the proposed reconstruction. * Fabrizio Amerini, Philosophical Inquiries *Let me say at once on the evidence of this volume, [Adamson] succeeds brilliantly. Over some 78 sections he covers a huge range of figures ... Special attention is given - and rightly so - to female philosophers, such as Catherine of Siena ... This book (and the others in the series), which are a delight to read, will be of great interest to general readers, aside from students of culture. * Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic *Adamson writes with a light style, beginning each short chapter with an anecdote, which rewards both sticking with the long narrative and dipping in and out. * Nick Mattiske, Journey, Isolation Reading Recommendations *A staggering philosophical achievement ... the clarity of the animated text is further enhanced by the authors humour, bringing a light touch to complex matters ... This volume will surely attain classic status, and can be read either sequentially or consulted as a detailed encyclopaedia of mediaeval philosophy and its variegated personalities. * Paradigm Explorer *Table of ContentsPreface Early Medieval Philosophy 1: Arts of Darkness: Introduction to Medieval Philosophy 2: Charles in Charge: Alcuin and the Carolingian Period 3: Grace Notes: Eriugena and the Predestination Controversy 4: Much Ado About Nothing: Eriugena's Periphyseon 5: Philosophers Anonymous: The Roots of Scholasticism 6: Virgin Territory: Peter Damian on Changing the Past 7: A Canterbury Tale: Anselm's Life and Works 8: Somebody's Perfect: Anselm's Ontological Argument 9: All or Nothing: The Problem of Universals 10: Get Thee to a Nunnery: Heloise and Abelard 11: It's the Thought that Counts: Abelard's Ethics 12: Learn Everything: The Victorines 13: Like Father, Like Son: Debates over the Trinity 14: On the Shoulders of Giants: Philosophy at Chartres 15: The Good Book: Philosophy of Nature 16: One of a Kind: Gilbert of Poitiers on Individuation 17: Two Swords: Early Medieval Political Philosophy 18: Law and Order: Peter Lombard and Gratian 19: Leading Light: Hildegard of Bingen 20: Rediscovery Channel: Translations into Latin 21: Straw Men: The Rise of the Universities The Thirteenth Century 22: No Uncertain Terms: Thirteenth Century Logic 23: Full of Potential: Thirteenth Century Physics 24: Stayin' Alive: Thirteenth Century Psychology 25: It's All Good: The Transcendentals 26: Do the Right Thing: Thirteenth Century Ethics 27: A Light That Never Goes Out: Robert Grosseteste 28: Origin of Species: Roger Bacon 29: Stairway to Heaven: Bonaventure 30: Your Attention Please: Peter Olivi 31: None for Me, Thanks: Franciscan Poverty 32: Begin the Beguine: Hadewijch and Mechtild 33: Binding Arbitration: Robert Kilwardby 34: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Albert the Great's Natural Philosophy 35: The Shadow Knows: Albert the Great's Metaphysics 36: The Ox Heard Round the World: Thomas Aquinas 37: Everybody Needs Some Body: Aquinas on Soul and Knowledge 38: What Comes Naturally: Ethics in Albert and Aquinas 39: What Pleases the Prince: The Rule of Law 40: Onward Christian Soldiers: Just War Theory 41: Paris When it Sizzles: The Condemnations 42: Masters of the University: "Latin Averroism" 43: The Neverending Story: The Eternity of the World 44: Let Me Count the Ways: Speculative Grammar 45: Love, Reign Over Me: the Romance of the Rose 46: Frequently Asked Questions: Henry of Ghent 47: Here Comes the Son: The Trinity and the Eucharist 48: Once and for All: Scotus on Being 49: To Will or Not to Will: Scotus on Freedom 50: On Command: Scotus' Ethics 51: One in a Million: Scotus on Universals and Individuals The Fourteenth Century 52: Time of the Signs: the Fourteenth Century 53: After Virtue: Marguerite Porete 54: To Hell and Back: Dante Alighieri 55: Church and State: Theories of Political Authority 56: Keeping the Peace: Marsilius of Padua 57: Do As You're Told: Ockham on Ethics and Political Philosophy 58: A Close Shave: Ockham's Nominalism 59: What Do You Think? Ockham on Mental Language 60: Keeping it Real: Responses to Ockham 61: Back to the Future: Divine Foreknowledge 62: Trivial Pursuits: Fourteenth Century Logic 63: Quadrivial Pursuits: the Oxford Calculators 64: Get to the Point: Fourteenth Century Physics 65: Portrait of the Artist: John Buridan 66: Seeing is Believing: Nicholas of Autrecourt's Skepticism 67: On the Money: Medieval Economic Theory 68: Down to the Ground: Meister Eckhart 69: Men in Black: The German Dominicans 70: A Wing and a Prayer: Angels in Medieval Philosophy 71: Alle Maner of Thyng Shall be Welle: English Mysticism 72: Say it With Poetry: Chaucer and Langland 73: The Good Wife: Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages 74: The Most Christian Doctor: Jean Gerson 75: Morning Star of the Reformation: John Wyclif 76: The Prague Spring: Scholasticism Across Europe 77: Renaissance Men: Ramon Llull and Petrarch

Read more less

Book SynopsisFernando Pessoa (1888-1935) is the quintessential philosophical outsider. Affiliated to no institution, and associated with no traditional school, in his prose fiction and poetry, Pessoa invented a new philosophy of the human subject, arguing that imagination is key to human flourishing and human self-enrichment. Each of us, he claimed, can use our powers of imagination to pluralise ourselves; that is to say, to live, simultaneously and in sequence, as a plurality of distinct subjects. Calling these artefact minds heteronyms, Pessoan synthetic selves are new ways poetically to experience the world. In this study of the philosophical thought of Pessoa, philosopher Jonardon Ganeri highlights connections between Pessoa with earlier philosophical poets, from Keats to Shakespeare and from Coleridge to Whitman. Ganeri emphasises Pessoa''s originality in his theory of the human subject as a radical departure from the history of Christian or Islamic thought, highlighting affinities with ideas

Read more less

Book SynopsisIs a whole something more than the sum of its parts? Are there things composed of the same parts? If you divide an object into parts, and divide those parts into smaller parts, will this process ever come to an end? Can something lose parts or gain new ones without ceasing to be the thing it is? Does any multitude of things (including disparate things such as you, this book, and the tail of a cat) compose a whole of some sort? Questions such as these have occupied us for at least as long as philosophy has existed. They define the field that has come to be known as mereology-the study of all relations of part to whole and of part to part within a whole-and have deep and far-reaching ramifications in metaphysics as well as in logic, the foundations of mathematics, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, and beyond. In Mereology, A. J. Cotnoir and Achille C. Varzi have compiled decades of advanced research into a comprehensive, up-to-date, and formally rigorous picture. The

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn introduction to philosophy of language through systematic and accessible explanations of ten classic texts by such thinkers as Frege, Kripke, Russell, and Putnam.Many beginning students in philosophy of language find themselves grappling with dense and difficult texts not easily understood by someone new to the field. This book offers an introduction to philosophy of language by explaining ten classic, often anthologized, texts. Accessible and thorough, written with a unique combination of informality and careful formulation, the book addresses sense and reference, proper names, definite descriptions, indexicals, the definition of truth, truth and meaning, and the nature of speaker meaning, as addressed by Frege, Kripke, Russell, Donnellan, Kaplan, Evans, Putnam, Tarski, Davidson, and Grice. The explanations aim to be as simple as possible without sacrificing accuracy; critical assessments are included with the exposition in order to stimulate further thought and discussio

Read more less

Book SynopsisAuster''s existential tale of Mr Blank from the author of contemporary classic The New York Trilogy: ''a literary voice for the ages'' (Guardian) An old man sits in a room, with a single door and window, a bed, a desk and a chair. Each day he awakes with no memory, unsure of whether or not he is locked into the room. Attached to the few objects around him are one-word, hand-written, labels and on the desk is a series of vaguely familiar black-and-white photgraphs and four piles of paper. Then a middle-aged woman called Anna enters and talks of pills and treatment, but also of love and promises.Who is this Mr Blank, and what is his fate? What does Anna represent from his past - and will he have enough time to ever make sense of the clues that arise?After the huge success of The Brooklyn Follies, Travels in the Scriptorium sees Auster return to more metaphysical territory. A dark puzzle, and a game that implicates both readeTrade Review"'... as much a novel about the semantics of storytelling; Mr Blank remains a perfect study of confusion and memory that says everything about Auster's brilliance.' Metro"

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisNow in its Fourth Edition, Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction introduces students to the main issues and theories in twenty-first-century philosophy of language, focusing specifically on linguistic phenomena.Author William G. Lycan structures the bookâs 13 chapters into four general parts. Part I, Reference and Referring, includes topics such as Russell's Theory of Descriptions (and its failings), Donnellan's distinction, problems of anaphora, the Description Theory of proper names, Searle's Cluster Theory, and the Causal-Historical Theory. Part II, Theories of Meaning, surveys the competing theories of linguistic meaning and compares their various advantages and liabilities. Part III, Pragmatics and Speech Acts, introduces the basic concepts of linguistic pragmatics and includes an introduction to the Relevance approach to pragmatics. Part IV, The Expressive and the Figurative, examines various forms of expressive language, as well as what metaphorical meaning is and how most listeners readily grasp it.Features of Philosophy of Language include: chapter overviews and summaries clear supportive examples study questions annotated lists of further reading a glossary. Key Updates to the Fourth Edition: a new section on the Predicativist theory of proper names an expanded section on Inferentialist theories of meaning a new section on Dynamic (âœupdateâ) theories of meaning a separate section on varieties of presupposition an all-new section on âœappliedâ philosophy of language, listing eleven recent areas of research up-to-date coverage of new literature, further reading lists, and the bibliography.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBeyond Language (Oltre il Linguaggio) is one of Italian philosopher Emmanuele Severino's major works, wrestling with whether it's possible to think meaningfully outside of the restrictions of language. Increasingly recognised as a truly foundational thinker in the formation of contemporary theory, Severino's ideas around self-expression, forms of communication and the limitations of language continue are brought to the fore in this book. Beyond Language specifically opens the door to the themes that Severino developed in his later works, including the concrete meaning of self-being and the decline of language. The depth and breadth of Severino's philosophical insight is as profound today as it was when first penned in 1992, making this first English translation of a key work in the history of continental philosophy crucial reading for those engaged with contemporary theory.Table of ContentsForeword: Being Beyond Language, by Ines Testoni and Giulio Goggi Beyond Translation, by Damiano Sacco Part I 1. Violence and Salvation 2. Anxiety and Will to Power 3. Scientific Specialisation and Nothingness Part II 4. Nietzsche and Gentile 5. Problematicism and Actual Idealism 6. Socrates, Silenus, and Virtue Part III 7. On Identity and Difference 8. The Unfolding of Language and the Appearing of Destiny 9. Language and Destiny

Read more less

Book SynopsisA SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 'I can't stop talking about this book' Jamie Klingler, co-founder #ReclaimTheseStreets 'What a gem. ... Makes you look at the world, and yourself, afresh.' Minna Salami, author of Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone 'A generous combination of passion and practicality that is not easily resisted. A rare book that might actually change our minds' Daniel Hahn OBE 'A book at once vigorous and generous, pleasurable and galvanising' Sophie Hughes, International Booker Prize-shortlisted translator What does it really mean to speak freely? A wise, beautifully written book that explores the way language shapes our lives and how we see the world - and what happens when we learn new words, and new ways of speaking to each other. Language opens up our world, and in the same instant, limits it. What does it mean to exist in a language that was never meant for you to speak? Why are we missing certain words? How can we talk about our communal problems without fuelling them? What does it actually mean to speak freely? As a writer and activist fighting for equality, Kübra Gümüsay has been thinking about these questions for many years. In this book she explores how language shapes our thinking and determines our politics. She shows how people become invisible as individuals when they are always seen as part of a group, and the way those in the minority often have to expend energy cleaning up the messy thinking of others. But she also points to how we might shape conversations to allow for greater ambiguity and individuality, how arguments might happen in a space of learning and vulnerability without sacrificing principles - how we might all be able to speak freely.Trade ReviewI can't stop talking about this book. There is so much here that is so relevant to our fight for equality, and I really appreciated her arguments about language, gender and race. Really made me think -- Jamie Klingler, co-founder #ReclaimTheseStreetsFrom the very first lines of Speaking and Being, Kübra Gümüsay shows herself to be a master storyteller. Her stories are about language - the ways in which it shapes the very essence of our being, and its power to define how we perceive others and how we are perceived. It is a book at once vigorous and generous, pleasurable and galvanising. -- Sophie Hughes, International Booker Prize-shortlisted translatorWhat a gem. This book reminded me that reading a book means spending time with the intimate thoughts of an author, and so we typically enjoy books by authors whose company we imagine enjoying. Kübra Gümüsay makes you look at the world, and yourself, afresh. Read it anytime, but especially read it if you're feeling alone and/or alienated, or if you're at a loss for language to describe the world and its complex sociocultural and psychological existence. Her wisdom inspires you to 'speak and be'. -- Minna Salami, author of 'Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone'Speaking and Being is as important a book as its title suggests. With an impressive array of trenchant examples, it reminds us how language shapes our world views and encourages us to question and alter them for the better. Kübra Gümüsay's is a rare voice that combines challenge and compassion in equal measure, and her message is all the more compelling for it. -- Chris Young, Head of the School of Arts and Humanities, University of CambridgeThought-provoking ... well researched, grounded in and citing the conversations and contexts it emerges out of. ... Timely and important -- Annie Rutherford * Goethe Institute Blog *An act of liberation - and a clever essay of literary quality and political strength. * NZZ am Sonntag *Precise, clever and extremely readable ... an important, thought-provoking commentary. Gümüsay's passionate plea for a new, free language and a new, free way of thinking questions the status quo. * Aachener Nachrichten *A polemical plea for a new use of language in public discourse. A polemic, however, that counteracts the battle cries with a personal tone and an inviting gesture to start a dialogue. * Deutschlandfunk *A reckoning with our linguistic habits * Zeit *

Read more less

Book SynopsisEncountering the Plague explores human responses to epidemics, past and present, through the lens of different humanities disciplines. The book demonstrates how the humanities can play a meaningful role in key social and political debates, enriching our understanding of human responses to epidemics through time. 20 illus.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA major collection of essays and interviews from an iconic 20th-century philosopher in five volumes, now all available together in paperback. Roland Barthes was a restless, protean thinker. A constant innovator—often as a daring smuggler of ideas from one discipline to another—he first gained an audience with his pithy essays on mass culture and then went on to produce some of the most suggestive and stimulating cultural criticism of the late twentieth century, including Empire of Signs, The Pleasure of the Text, and Camera Lucida. In 1976, this one-time structuralist outsider was elected to a chair at France’s preeminent Collège de France, where he chose to style himself as a professor of literary semiology until his death in 1980. The greater part of Barthes’s published writings has been available to a French audience since 2002, but now, translator Chris Turner presents a collection of essays, interviews, prefaces, book reviews, and other journalistic material for the first time in English and divided into five themed volumes. In volume one, A Very Fine Gift, Barthes attempts to frame his lifelong curiosities in theoretical form, from his early musings on the sociology of literature through his high period of structuralism to his later reflections on Derrida.Table of ContentsShould Grammar Be Killed Off? A Brief Sociology of the Contemporary French Novel An Innovation in Criticism New Problems of Realism Works of Mass Culture and Explication de Texte The Human Sciences and the Works of Lévi-Strauss Mass Culture, High Culture Response to a Survey on Structuralism A Dialectical Writing Practice Interview on Structuralism Linguistics and Literature Ten Reasons to Write A Problematic of Meaning The Linguistics of Discourse On Theory A Very Fine Gift Letter to Jean Ristat For a Theory of Reading Supplement Writing Responses A Kind of Manual Labour Foreword to ‘Jakobson’ Relations between Fiction and Criticism according to Roger Laporte

Read more less

Book SynopsisNeil Powell fuses a critical look at language with an exploration of the political and existential problems facing humankind... The Storyteller is tired of telling stories about Love, God and Beauty. With the invention of Eric Crawford, an English teacher at Davenport College, he explores what is required to tell new stories. As a result, a tantalising world of freedom beckons. This encompasses Eric’s teaching, family and romantic life, the explosive relationship he has with troubled student, David Spurling, a protest movement about the role of Art, and a violent crime on college grounds. The Storyteller’s control of Eric’s life conversely makes the Storyteller realise the power language has over him. Reminding him that language is a public medium, not the exclusive tool of an authority or author. A stylistically innovative novel, at turns both a philosophy and black comedy, The Office of Future Storytelling, examines the relationship of language to individual identity and freedom. It argues that the stories we need are those which demonstrate our unequivocal connection to the world.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe way we communicate with people matters, and the way we communicate about people, and about the purpose and practice of social care and social work matters too. The words we use reflect our values and feelings which influences the way we think and behave. This is a book about language, and how the words we hear, read and choose to use both expose and perpetuate attitudes and behaviours. It's about the words that are too dominant in our narrative and practice, and the words that should dominate. It's also a book about change. Changing how we communicate about people. Changing how we understand and articulate the purpose of social care. Changing how we practice. And ultimately changing the story of social care. And mainly it's a book about being human. About recognising each other as equal, valued human beings, and about creating a more human, humane future for us all.

Read more less

Book Synopsis`E: Erroneous: Capable of being proved true'; `J: Jolly: The downfall of our enemies'; `M: Mystery: What I understand and you don't' . . . Enter the delightful, satirical world of the Good Citizen, according to one of the best-known writers and philosophers of modern times. In this pocket-sized book, Bertrand Russell's witty, subversive A-Z encompasses pedants and nincompoops, knowledge and virtue, providing a diverting and entertaining guide to the English alphabet. Brought back into print for the first time since the 1970s, the brief texts are illustrated with the lively drawings of Franciszka Themerson, a leading figure of the twentieth century avant-garde, whose apt and amusing images add an anarchic spirit to this delightful gift book - perfect for linguistic novices and eloquent eggheads alike. Facsimile pages reproduce the vintage look and feel of the original 1953 publication.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Dazzling... Pinker''s big idea is that language is an instinct...as innate to us as flying is to geese... Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker''s investigations''- Independent''A marvellously readable book... illuminates every facet of human language: its biological origin, its uniqueness to humanity, it acquisition by children, its grammatical structure, the production and perception of speech, the pathology of language disorders and the unstoppable evolution of languages and dialects'' - Nature

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Language is a body, a living creature ... and this creature''s home is the inarticulate as well as the articulate''. John Berger''s work has revolutionized the way we understand visual language. In this new book he writes about language itself, and how it relates to thought, art, song, storytelling and political discourse today. Also containing Berger''s own drawings, notes, memories and reflections on everything from Albert Camus to global capitalism, Confabulations takes us to what is ''true, essential and urgent''.Trade ReviewHis writing ... has changed the way many of us see the world ... Berger has that rare and wonderful gift of being able to make complex thoughts simple -- Kate Kellaway * Observer *John Berger teaches us how to think, how to feel, how to stare at things till we see what we thought wasn't there. But above all he teaches us how to love in the face of adversity. He is a master -- Arundhati RoyOne of the greatest thinkers in postwar Britain * Guardian *He handles thoughts the way an artist handles paint -- Jeanette WintersonBerger is terrific ... Brilliant * Scotsman *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn a single volume, the seminal writings of the world's leading philosopher, linguist and critic, and author of the bestselling Who Rules the World‘The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know’ Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky's writings on politics and language have established him as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time, and as perhaps the leading dissident voice in the United States.The Essential Chomsky brings together selections from his most important writings, from his groundbreaking critique of B.F. Skinner to his bestselling works Hegemony or Survival and Failed States, concerning subjects ranging from critiques of corporate media and U.S. interventionism to intellectual freedom and the political economy of human rights. Featuring a collection of twenty-five pieces of writing spanning six decades, this is an unparalleled and comprehensive overview of Chomsky's thought.‘Chomsky is arguably the most important intellectual alive’ New York TimesTrade ReviewChomsky ranks with Marx, Shakespeare, and the Bible as one of the ten most quoted sources in the humanities-and is the only writer among them still alive. * Guardian *Chomsky is arguably the most important intellectual alive. * New York Times *Noam Chomsky is one of the most significant challengers of unjust power and delusions; he goes against every assumption about American altruism and humanitarianism. -- Edward SaidNot to have read [Chomsky] is to court genuine ignorance. * Nation *A rebel without a pause. -- Bono

Read more less

Book SynopsisA fresh perspective on how early scholars perceived the cosmos and the nature of knowledge through a tour-de-force study of the central role geometry played in medieval creativity.Geometry, rhetoric and creativity were intricately linked in medieval thought. Early thinkers integrated mathematical and linguistic frameworks in their attempts to understand both divine and human creation with geometry providing the means through which these scholars tackled everything from theological speculation to the medieval art of "Invention". Through detailed explorations of the works of figures such as Augustine, Calcidius and Cassiodorus, this book reveals how medieval thinkers conceptualized beginnings-not as fixed points but as unfolding processes with metaphors of weaving, mapping and journeying reflecting how these scholars navigated the act of creation, whether that terrestrial or cosmological. Engaging with philosophy, theology and intellectual history, this work offers fresh insights into how medieval minds reconciled the limits of human understanding with the vast complexity of the universe. In doing so, it challenges modern assumptions about the separation of mathematical and linguistic thinking, demonstrating the dynamic, process-oriented nature of medieval ideas about the mind and the procedures of thinking.

Read more less