Philosophy of language Books

Book SynopsisMany commentaries have been devoted to Lewis Carroll's masterpiece, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The interpretations range from Freudian analysis to speculations about the real-life people who may have inspired the animal characters. In this unique approach to interpreting Alice, the fruit of ten years of research, Dr. Bernard M. Patten shows that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, fused his passion for logic, mathematics, and games with his love of words and nonsense stories to produce a multifaceted, intricately structured work of literature. Patten provides a chapter-by-chapter skeleton key to Alice, which meticulously demonstrates how its various episodes reveal Dodgson's profound knowledge of the rules of clear thinking, informal and formal logic, symbolic logic, and human nature. As Patten makes clear, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, far from being just an entertaining children's book, is more complex and deeply reflective of Dodgson's character than it may seem. By making an effort to understand its deeper layers, both children and adults may profit from this masterful tale by learning to think better and, along the way, having fun.Trade Review"Brian Jenkins once again brings sound judgment and scholarship to perhaps the most difficult issue we will face--the likelihood that terrorists might obtain and use a nuclear weapon. Jenkins shows us how we must confront our fears with thoughtful and diligent action. We can afford to do no less. A must read. " --George Tenet, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency "There are things that rightly terrify us in this world, and Jenkins names them carefully. But fear is also used to control us. Beyond manipulation, this saps our strength and our spirit, leaving us immobilized, not fully human at all. Learning to distinguish the two is the gift of this book." --Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, Episcopal Bishop of Utah "The book has a fascinating climax: you are the president, a nuclear explosion has just occurred in Manhattan... This is the one part of the book that I wish to be available to the president and his cabinet and advisors if such an event ever occurs--preferably before it occurs... I hope a copy of Jenkins' book will be in the office of every senior official." --Thomas C. Schelling, Nobel Laureate.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Down the Rabbit Hole; The Pool of Tears; A Caucus Race and a Long Tale; The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill; Advice from a Caterpillar; Pig and Pepper; A Mad Tea Party; The Queen's Croquet Ground; The Mock Turtle's Story; The Lobster Quadrille; Who Stole the Tarts?; Alice's Evidence.

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Book SynopsisWhat distinguishes the study of rhetoric from other pursuits in the liberal arts? From what realms of human existence and expression, of human history, does such study draw its defining character? What, in the end, should be the purposes of rhetorical inquiry? And amid so many competing accounts of discourse, power, and judgment in the contemporary world, how might scholars achieve these purposes through the attitudes and strategies that animate their workRethinking Rhetorical Theory, Criticism, and Pedagogy: The Living Art of Michael C. Leff offers answers to these questions by introducing the central insights of one of the most innovative and prolific rhetoricians of the twentieth century, Michael C. Leff. This volume charts Leff ’s decades-long development as a scholar, revealing both the variety of topics and the approach that marked his oeuvre, as well as his long-standing critique of the disciplinary assumptions of classical, Hellenistic, renaissance, modern, and postmodern rhetoric.Rethinking Rhetorical Theory, Criticism, and Pedagogy includes a synoptic introduction to the evolution of Leff ’s thought from his time as a graduate student in the late 1960s to his death in 2010, as well as specific commentary on twenty-four of his most illuminating essays and lectures.

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Book SynopsisIntersections of Gender and Ethnicity in English Language Learning Texts offers a fresh and relevant interrogation of educational materials for all students, researchers, and educators engaging in critical language study. Drawing on her own extensive research, Amy Burden offers up a first-of-its-kind critical linguistic analysis of gender and ethnicity representation in English Language Learning materials and an update for the US ESL textbook market 40 years overdue. Using accessible definitions, explanations, and examples of critical race, corpus, literary, and feminist theories, Burden systematically deconstructs the theoretical and textual ways in which gender representations reinforce patriarchal ideologies. Ultimately, Burden argues that Critical Literacy and Critical Race Pedagogy are necessary tools for ensuring equitable, egalitarian representation and combatting the harmful impact that these themes have had on readers and communities.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Prominent Analytical TheoriesChapter 2 Human Character AnalysisChapter 3 Non-human Character AnalysisChapter 4 The Role of GenreChapter 5 Engaging Critical Literacy

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Book SynopsisPragmatic-Psychoanalytic Interpretations of Amos Oz's Writings: Words Significantly Uttered presents intermediate links between three intellectual domains: the literary works of Amos Oz, American Pragmatism, and object-relations psychoanalysis. The interdisciplinary method employed here involves a presentation of Oz’s writings as the starting point for an existential debate that addresses a mental-conceptual struggle. This conceptual conflict, which has been given aesthetic shape in the literary work, inspires the presentation of central pragmatic and psychoanalytic concepts with which one may evaluate how each of these domains might contribute to a new and richer understanding of the conceptual tension or existential challenge. Each of the chapters aimed to interpret Oz’s works not only as literary masterpieces but as existential-philosophical expressions. Dorit Lemberger’s main argument is that Oz reconceptualized psychological, personal, familial, and often national, processes in a way that allows readers to understand such processes in general life from a retrospective perspective.Trade ReviewPragmatic-Psychoanalytic Interpretations of Amos Oz's Writings: Words Significantly Uttered sheds new light on the literary oeuvre of Amos Oz, one of the greatest authors of the second half of the twentieth century. Dr. Dorit Lemberger’s achievement in completing the complex task she took upon herself is impressive, and she succeeded by creating an original, effective research approach based on an extensive network of connections between several fields of knowledge: literature, language and linguistics, psychology, and pragmatist philosophy. -- Yigal Schwartz, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevDorit Lemberger offers us a thought-provoking philosophical grammar of literature. It’s with new eyes that she reads Amos Oz’s work, and it’s with enriched language that we finish reading her masterful study, eyes and language that linger on while we turn to the works of others. -- Shimon Adaf, Ben Gurion University of the NegevTable of ContentsChapter One: "Love is a curious mixture of opposites": The Symbolic Function of Language in Psychoanalysis and its Use in The Same Sea and A Tale of Love and DarknessChapter Two: Pierce’s Categories of Consciousness in Where the Jackals Howl and My Michael – A Pragmatic and Psychoanalytic InterpretationChapter Three: Between Guilt and Betrayal and the Possibility of Self-Control: Oz's Unto Death, Panther in the Basement and Judas from an Interdisciplinary Point of ViewChapter Four: The Journey to the True Self in Elsewhere, Perhaps and A Perfect Peace: A Multi-Dimensional PerspectiveChapter Five: Living Meaningfully – Self-Creativity in Black Box

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Book SynopsisSeemingly unrelated controversies about consciousness, language, and vision have a deep connection, a mistake that has not been noticed. Spectator in the Cartesian Theater: Where Theories of Mind Went Wrong since Descartes suggests that this error arises not from what is put into a theory but rather from what is missing. In Daniel Dennett’s famous metaphor of a “Cartesian Theater,” a homunculus or “little man” watches the screen on which our thoughts and sensations appear. Peter Slezak argues that we fail to notice that we are doing an essential part of the work of the theory and, therefore, we are the spectators in the Cartesian theory—like looking for our spectacles while wearing them. As philosopher Jerry Fodor pointed out, “The question is not what is obvious to the theorist; the question is what follows from the theory.”This book argues that a proper understanding of the mistake reveals a deep connection among a range of seemingly unrelated problems at the forefront of controversy about consciousness, language, and vision, among others. In his physiological writings neglected by philosophers, Descartes explained how the pseudo-explanation arises, as Chomsky warns, by depending on “an intelligent and comprehending reader,” the central theme of the book. Table of ContentsIntroduction: IllusionsChapter 1. Dangerous MeditationsChapter 2. Illusionism and The Phenomenological FallacyChapter 3. What It’s Like: Conscious Experience ItselfChapter 4. Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Diagonal DeductionChapter 5. The Mind’s Eye: Visual ImageryChapter 6. In the Chinese Room: Life without meaningChapter 7. Meaning: Interpretation or Explanation?Chapter 8. Proper Names: The Omniscient ObserverChapter 9. The Theory of Ideas: Fodor’s Guilty PassionsChapter 10. Descartes’ Neurocomputational PhilosophyChapter 11. What is Knowledge? The Gettier ProblemChapter 12. Disjunctivism: The Argument from Illusion (Again)Chapter 13. Newcomb’s Problem: Demons, Deceivers, and LiarsConclusion

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Book SynopsisIs art a form of communication? If so, what does art express or represent? How should we interpret the meaning of works created by more than one artist? Is art an adaptation, via natural selection? In what ways is art similar toand different fromlanguage? Art as Communication: Aesthetics, Evolution, and Signaling employs information theory, the theory of evolution, and the newly developed sender-receiver model of communication to reason about art, aesthetic behavior, and its communicative nature. Shawn Simpson considers whether art, from a biological point of view, is the province of only humans or whether animals might reasonably be said to create art. Examining the work of evolutionary biologists, art theorists, linguists, and philosophersincluding Charles Darwin, Stephen Davies, H. Paul Grice, and othershe addresses how well different theories of communication explain meaning and expression in art and argues that art is much more continuous with other forms of communication than previously thought.

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Book SynopsisIn Europe, and later in the United States, the revitalization of the philosophy of language emerged from the need to address certain perplexities concerning formal disciplines and to work out certain complexities found within philosophy. In Uruguay, however, philosophy of language became limited to a meta-theory about the basic concepts of language. Edited by Carlos Enrique Caorsi and Ricardo J. Navia, Philosophy of Language in Uruguay: Language, Meaning, and Philosophy presents an anthology of works discussing the different directions in which philosophy of language has developed in Uruguay in the last twenty years. The present compendium gives a fairly comprehensive and representative picture of how philosophical approaches from a linguistic perspective have developed in this Latin American country. Uruguayan philosophy has a very small international presence, but includes works worthy of being better known within the philosophical explorations of language as early as the 1900s. The contributors dissect these explorations through epistemology, linguistics, and argumentation and cognitive sciences to discover how philosophers of language such as Carlos Vaz Ferreira have grown to understand the complexities of language and how it has affected us today.

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Book SynopsisIn The Autonomy of Reference: On the Relational Structure of Nominals, Zoltán Vecsey defends a moderate autonomy thesis concerning the explanatory status of nominal reference. The autonomy thesis is based on the observation that the relational term of reference exhibits a specific resistance to systematizing attempts. The resistance can be observed on two complementary fronts. On the one hand, reference cannot be introduced into the vocabulary of theoretical linguistics in a de novo manner because every reasonable introductory technique must be built on such expressions that are already functioning in a relational mode. On the other hand, and for similar reasons, the term cannot simply be removed from the vocabulary of theoretical linguistics because every reasonable technique of removal must be built on expressions that are still functioning in a relational mode. Although reference is an autonomous aspect of meaning, in that it shows resistance to these attempts of systematisation, it should not be banished from linguistic theory as an unscientific phenomenon. Vecsey argues that this explanatory technique of reverse engineering, which has already been effectively used in the research practices of logic and mathematics, brings theoretical legitimacy to the term of reference.

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Book SynopsisAnimals regularly populate philosophical texts as a foil to illustrate what it means to be human. How should we understand this human-animal divide? Not only does it inform us of who we are, it also tells us how we should relate to the larger non-human world. The Speaking Animal interrogates the human-animal divide by looking at our linguistic differences – how the speaking human subject is constructed through its opposition to the dumb animal. Alison Suen begins with an analysis of the role of language in animal ethics, with an eye toward the voice/voiceless opposition that is at work in animal advocacy. After offering a critical analysis of the ethical and political significance of speaking for animals, the book takes on a more constructive turn, going against the usual interpretation of language as a capacity that allows us to reason. Instead, it argues that our language capacity is also a relational capacity. Language is that which enables us to develop kinship with others – including animal others.Trade ReviewOffering nuanced criticisms of rights-based animal advocacy, Alison Suen fosters new understandings of animal ethics while insightfully reframing key debates. Suen’s innovative relational account of the human as a speaking animal challenges human exceptionalism even as she suggests that humans can most responsibly acknowledge kinship with animal others in our speech. An important book distinguished by its empathic vision. -- Martha J. Reineke, Professor of Religion, University of Northern IowaThe Speaking Animal offers a profound analysis of the relationality and responsibility that lie at the heart of language. Through dazzling readings of a wide variety of texts and media, Suen develops an inspiring vision for animal ethics that centers on affirmative, respectful, and loving engagements. This is an essential contribution to the fields of animal studies and animal philosophy. -- Matthew Calarco, Professor of Philosophy, California State UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments / Introduction / 1. Giving Animals a Hearing: Rights Discourse and Animal Representation in Animal Ethics / 2. From Animal Father to Animal Mother: A Freudian Account of Animal Care Ethics / 3. The Poverty Of Kinship: Heidegger on The Human-Animal Linguistic Divide / 4. Animal Identity: The Problem of Difference in the Animal Rights Discourse / 5. Racialising Cruelty: Dehumanisation in the Name of Animal Advocacy / Epilogue / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisAnimals regularly populate philosophical texts as a foil to illustrate what it means to be human. How should we understand this human-animal divide? Not only does it inform us of who we are, it also tells us how we should relate to the larger non-human world. The Speaking Animal interrogates the human-animal divide by looking at our linguistic differences – how the speaking human subject is constructed through its opposition to the dumb animal. Alison Suen begins with an analysis of the role of language in animal ethics, with an eye toward the voice/voiceless opposition that is at work in animal advocacy. After offering a critical analysis of the ethical and political significance of speaking for animals, the book takes on a more constructive turn, going against the usual interpretation of language as a capacity that allows us to reason. Instead, it argues that our language capacity is also a relational capacity. Language is that which enables us to develop kinship with others – including animal others.Trade ReviewOffering nuanced criticisms of rights-based animal advocacy, Alison Suen fosters new understandings of animal ethics while insightfully reframing key debates. Suen’s innovative relational account of the human as a speaking animal challenges human exceptionalism even as she suggests that humans can most responsibly acknowledge kinship with animal others in our speech. An important book distinguished by its empathic vision. -- Martha J. Reineke, Professor of Religion, University of Northern IowaThe Speaking Animal offers a profound analysis of the relationality and responsibility that lie at the heart of language. Through dazzling readings of a wide variety of texts and media, Suen develops an inspiring vision for animal ethics that centers on affirmative, respectful, and loving engagements. This is an essential contribution to the fields of animal studies and animal philosophy. -- Matthew Calarco, Professor of Philosophy, California State UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments / Introduction / 1. Giving Animals a Hearing: Rights Discourse and Animal Representation in Animal Ethics / 2. From Animal Father to Animal Mother: A Freudian Account of Animal Care Ethics / 3. The Poverty Of Kinship: Heidegger on The Human-Animal Linguistic Divide / 4. Animal Identity: The Problem of Difference in the Animal Rights Discourse / 5. Racialising Cruelty: Dehumanisation in the Name of Animal Advocacy / Epilogue / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisThe linguistic turn in critical theory has been routinely justified with the claim that Adorno’s philosophy is trapped within the limits of consciousness philosophy. Yet Adorno’s own philosophy of language has not yet been fully and systematically examined in its own right. Philip Hogh argues that it was in fact the linguistic turn in critical theory that prevented a thorough analysis of Adorno's philosophy of language. Here he reconstructs Adorno’s philosophy of language and presents it as a coherent theory that demands to be understood as an important contribution to contemporary linguistic philosophy. By analysing all the key concepts in Adorno’s thought (subjectivity, epistemology, social theory and aesthetics), and comparing them to Robert Brandom’s material inferentialism, John McDowell’s theory of conceptual experience and Jürgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action, this book presents Adorno’s theory as an important contribution to contemporary philosophy of language in its own right.Trade ReviewIf for no other reason, this reconstruction of Theodor Adorno’s philosophy of language is important because there is no other volume that does so. According to Hogh (Carl von Ossietzky Univ. of Oldenburg, Germany), this is in part due to Adorno's nonsystematic treatment of the subject and in part because of the received opinion in critical theory that Jürgen Habermas has set the agenda when it comes to language. Habermas takes a rather negative and limiting view of Adorno's work on language. Hogh seeks to engage Adorno afresh, bracketing Habermas’s judgment. But that is not the only reason Hogh’s book is important. It is a first-rate work that admirably grapples with Adorno’s thought, focusing on his emphasis of language’s historical dimension and “its social critical conception of language criticism,” as Hogh writes in the introduction. The author discusses the subject in chapters on topics one might expect in discussion of the philosophy of language: the natural history of language as second nature, theory of the name, theory of meaning, and communication. The book concludes with a brief chapter on Adorno’s philosophy of language today. This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Adorno’s philosophy of language or in his thought more generally. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *An elegant and erudite examination. Learned in the European and American philosophical discussions, Hogh considers the claims of Adorno’s philosophy of language with acumen and insight. But he also puts on the table the question what it means to have a philosophy of language when the on-going possibility of communication and expression is considered one of the most urgent problems of the day. -- Lydia Goehr, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Columbia UniversityIn this lucid, meticulously argued, and compelling reconstruction of Adorno’s philosophy of language, Philip Hogh has but us all in his debt. Hogh not only demonstrates how the fundamental features of Adorno’s critical theory either already possess or can be given a linguistic rendering, but his account brings Adorno’s philosophy of language into critical conversation with the leading edge of contemporary work in the area. An invaluable contribution to both Adorno studies and the philosophy of language generally. -- J. M. Bernstein, New School for Social ResearchTable of Contents1. Introduction / 2. A Natural History of Language as Second Nature / 3. A Theory of the Name / 4. Outlines of a Theory of Meaning / 5. Communication / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisThe linguistic turn in critical theory has been routinely justified with the claim that Adorno’s philosophy is trapped within the limits of consciousness philosophy. Yet Adorno’s own philosophy of language has not yet been fully and systematically examined in its own right. Philip Hogh argues that it was in fact the linguistic turn in critical theory that prevented a thorough analysis of Adorno's philosophy of language. Here he reconstructs Adorno’s philosophy of language and presents it as a coherent theory that demands to be understood as an important contribution to contemporary linguistic philosophy. By analysing all the key concepts in Adorno’s thought (subjectivity, epistemology, social theory and aesthetics), and comparing them to Robert Brandom’s material inferentialism, John McDowell’s theory of conceptual experience and Jürgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action, this book presents Adorno’s theory as an important contribution to contemporary philosophy of language in its own right.Trade ReviewIf for no other reason, this reconstruction of Theodor Adorno’s philosophy of language is important because there is no other volume that does so. According to Hogh (Carl von Ossietzky Univ. of Oldenburg, Germany), this is in part due to Adorno's nonsystematic treatment of the subject and in part because of the received opinion in critical theory that Jürgen Habermas has set the agenda when it comes to language. Habermas takes a rather negative and limiting view of Adorno's work on language. Hogh seeks to engage Adorno afresh, bracketing Habermas’s judgment. But that is not the only reason Hogh’s book is important. It is a first-rate work that admirably grapples with Adorno’s thought, focusing on his emphasis of language’s historical dimension and “its social critical conception of language criticism,” as Hogh writes in the introduction. The author discusses the subject in chapters on topics one might expect in discussion of the philosophy of language: the natural history of language as second nature, theory of the name, theory of meaning, and communication. The book concludes with a brief chapter on Adorno’s philosophy of language today. This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Adorno’s philosophy of language or in his thought more generally. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *An elegant and erudite examination. Learned in the European and American philosophical discussions, Hogh considers the claims of Adorno’s philosophy of language with acumen and insight. But he also puts on the table the question what it means to have a philosophy of language when the on-going possibility of communication and expression is considered one of the most urgent problems of the day. -- Lydia Goehr, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Columbia UniversityIn this lucid, meticulously argued, and compelling reconstruction of Adorno’s philosophy of language, Philip Hogh has but us all in his debt. Hogh not only demonstrates how the fundamental features of Adorno’s critical theory either already possess or can be given a linguistic rendering, but his account brings Adorno’s philosophy of language into critical conversation with the leading edge of contemporary work in the area. An invaluable contribution to both Adorno studies and the philosophy of language generally. -- J. M. Bernstein, New School for Social ResearchTable of Contents1. Introduction / 2. A Natural History of Language as Second Nature / 3. A Theory of the Name / 4. Outlines of a Theory of Meaning / 5. Communication / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisHow is it that sounds from the mouth or marks on a page—which by themselves are nothing like things or events in the world—can be world-disclosive in an automatic manner? In this fascinating and important book, Lawrence J. Hatab presents a new vocabulary for Heidegger’s early phenomenology of being-in-the-world and applies it to the question of language. He takes language to be a mode of dwelling, in which there is an immediate, direct disclosure of meanings, and sketches an extensive picture of proto-phenomenology, how it revises the posture of philosophy, and how this posture applies to the nature of language. Representational theories are not rejected but subordinated to a presentational account of immediate disclosure in concrete embodied life. The book critically addresses standard theories of language, such that typical questions in the philosophy of language are revised in a manner that avoids binary separations of language and world, speech and cognition, theory and practise, realism and idealism, internalism and externalism.Trade ReviewHatab deftly integrates phenomenological and analytic resources in philosophy, in consultation with empirical studies, to offer a brilliant analysis of the non-representational existential aspects of how we are in-the-world through the meaning-disclosing performance of language. He traces the disclosive processes of language that cut across the physical, social and cultural dimensions of our existence, prior to and underpinning its representational functions. His analysis not only provides insight into how language works, but also deconstructs the basic assumptions that underlie the central debates in the philosophy of language. -- Shaun Gallagher, Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in Philosophy, University of Memphis"In this first of two volumes Lawrence Hatab crowns a brilliant career in philosophy with one of the best treatments of Heidegger on language that we have. Beautifully written, the book conjugates penetrating scholarship with a clarity of presentation that is a model for scholarship in continental philosophy. " -- Thomas Sheehan, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford UniversityHatab’s fecund account of ‘ecstatic dwelling in the lived world’ applies central Heideggerian insights with remarkable clarity to a wide range of philosophical topics, including the nature of meaning, language, and truth. ‘Old’ Heideggerians are exposed to a wealth of congenial developments in the analytic tradition and embodied cognitive science; proponents of the latter are treated to an ‘existential naturalism’ that suits their orientation. Highly recommended. -- Georg Theiner, Assistant Professor, Villanova UniversityIf Hatab in many ways takes his lead from the early Heidegger’s phenomenology of being-in-the-world, he is not afraid to move beyond the limits of that project, both in terms of the scope of substantive issues he explores and methodological resources he employs in doing so. The book focuses on the presentational, disclosive nature of language as it is revealed in everyday, practical, and dialogical contexts of use, arguing for the primacy of these aspects of language over the more decontextualized, representational features that are made the focus of much work in the dominant traditions of linguistics and philosophy of language. * Phenomenological Reviews *Lawrence J. Hatab's book is a welcome addition to current philosophical conversations about phenomenology and language alike. … It is valuable in sketching out what a philosophical treatment of language based on Heidegger's early phenomenology would look like. Moreover, since it makes a compelling case for the value of Heidegger's phenomenological approach both in itself and as an approach to language, it deserves the close attention of anyone interested in language as a philosophic topic. Finally, its clear prose and its engagement with disciplines and concerns typically left out of Heidegger scholarship make it accessible to and engaging for a wide philosophical audience. In this, it does a great service to contemporary Heidegger studies. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsPreface / Introduction / 1. Proto-Phenomenology and the Lived World / 2. Disclosure, Interpretation, and Philosophy / 3. Proto-Phenomenology and Language / 4. Language and Truth / 5. Transition to Volume II / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisHow is it that sounds from the mouth or marks on a page—which by themselves are nothing like things or events in the world—can be world-disclosive in an automatic manner? In this fascinating and important book, Lawrence J. Hatab presents a new vocabulary for Heidegger’s early phenomenology of being-in-the-world and applies it to the question of language. He takes language to be a mode of dwelling, in which there is an immediate, direct disclosure of meanings, and sketches an extensive picture of proto-phenomenology, how it revises the posture of philosophy, and how this posture applies to the nature of language. Representational theories are not rejected but subordinated to a presentational account of immediate disclosure in concrete embodied life. The book critically addresses standard theories of language, such that typical questions in the philosophy of language are revised in a manner that avoids binary separations of language and world, speech and cognition, theory and practise, realism and idealism, internalism and externalism.Trade ReviewHatab deftly integrates phenomenological and analytic resources in philosophy, in consultation with empirical studies, to offer a brilliant analysis of the non-representational existential aspects of how we are in-the-world through the meaning-disclosing performance of language. He traces the disclosive processes of language that cut across the physical, social and cultural dimensions of our existence, prior to and underpinning its representational functions. His analysis not only provides insight into how language works, but also deconstructs the basic assumptions that underlie the central debates in the philosophy of language. -- Shaun Gallagher, Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in Philosophy, University of Memphis"In this first of two volumes Lawrence Hatab crowns a brilliant career in philosophy with one of the best treatments of Heidegger on language that we have. Beautifully written, the book conjugates penetrating scholarship with a clarity of presentation that is a model for scholarship in continental philosophy. " -- Thomas Sheehan, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford UniversityHatab’s fecund account of ‘ecstatic dwelling in the lived world’ applies central Heideggerian insights with remarkable clarity to a wide range of philosophical topics, including the nature of meaning, language, and truth. ‘Old’ Heideggerians are exposed to a wealth of congenial developments in the analytic tradition and embodied cognitive science; proponents of the latter are treated to an ‘existential naturalism’ that suits their orientation. Highly recommended. -- Georg Theiner, Assistant Professor, Villanova UniversityIf Hatab in many ways takes his lead from the early Heidegger’s phenomenology of being-in-the-world, he is not afraid to move beyond the limits of that project, both in terms of the scope of substantive issues he explores and methodological resources he employs in doing so. The book focuses on the presentational, disclosive nature of language as it is revealed in everyday, practical, and dialogical contexts of use, arguing for the primacy of these aspects of language over the more decontextualized, representational features that are made the focus of much work in the dominant traditions of linguistics and philosophy of language. * Phenomenological Reviews *Lawrence J. Hatab's book is a welcome addition to current philosophical conversations about phenomenology and language alike. … It is valuable in sketching out what a philosophical treatment of language based on Heidegger's early phenomenology would look like. Moreover, since it makes a compelling case for the value of Heidegger's phenomenological approach both in itself and as an approach to language, it deserves the close attention of anyone interested in language as a philosophic topic. Finally, its clear prose and its engagement with disciplines and concerns typically left out of Heidegger scholarship make it accessible to and engaging for a wide philosophical audience. In this, it does a great service to contemporary Heidegger studies. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsPreface / Introduction / 1. Proto-Phenomenology and the Lived World / 2. Disclosure, Interpretation, and Philosophy / 3. Proto-Phenomenology and Language / 4. Language and Truth / 5. Transition to Volume II / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of Wittgenstein’s book, strictly following the author’s recommendations, allows a more immediate comprehension of the text and dissolves several false problems that had deceived readers and scholars for a century. The faithful interpretation of decimal numbers (which alone, according to Wittgenstein, “give perspicuity and clarity to the book”) shows that the Tractatus stems from a home-page containing seven cardinal propositions and develops level by level, by perfectly coherent reading units. Indeed, “the Tractatus must be read in accordance with the numbering system, and that demands that the reader follow the text after the manner of a logical tree, which is the way in which the book was composed and in which Wittgenstein arranged his philosophical remarks” (Peter Hacker, The Philosophical Quarterly). Thence, the Tractatus is no longer an obstacle course, where critics and students were strenuously committed to decipher anacolutes, semantic jumps and bizarre combinations. On the contrary, it reveals to be, at long last, a book that every reader, from her own point of view, can enjoy. The actual form of Wittgenstein’s work discloses the harmony and the aesthetic value of a philosophical text that is contemporary and is one of the most amazing masterpieces of world literature.Trade Review“This is a welcome addition to the growing Tractatus literature. Both the presentation of Wittgenstein’s text in surveyable tree form and the publication of the “supplements” in the two appendices will be very useful.”—Duncan Richter, Professor of Philosophy, Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies, Virginia Military InstituteTable of ContentsForeword by Luciano Bazzocchi; Introduction to This Edition by P. M. S. Hacker; Historical Note by Luciano Bazzocchi; Introduction by Bertrand Russell; Preface; Tractatus logico- philosophicus; Notes; Appendix A: Supplements; Appendix B: ‘Shavings and Sawdust’.

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of Wittgenstein’s book, strictly following the author’s recommendations, allows a more immediate comprehension of the text and dissolves several false problems that had deceived readers and scholars for a century. The faithful interpretation of decimal numbers (which alone, according to Wittgenstein, “give perspicuity and clarity to the book”) shows that the Tractatus stems from a home-page containing seven cardinal propositions and develops level by level, by perfectly coherent reading units. Indeed, “the Tractatus must be read in accordance with the numbering system, and that demands that the reader follow the text after the manner of a logical tree, which is the way in which the book was composed and in which Wittgenstein arranged his philosophical remarks” (Peter Hacker, The Philosophical Quarterly). Thence, the Tractatus is no longer an obstacle course, where critics and students were strenuously committed to decipher anacolutes, semantic jumps and bizarre combinations. On the contrary, it reveals to be, at long last, a book that every reader, from her own point of view, can enjoy. The actual form of Wittgenstein’s work discloses the harmony and the aesthetic value of a philosophical text that is contemporary and is one of the most amazing masterpieces of world literature.Trade Review“This is a welcome addition to the growing Tractatus literature. Both the presentation of Wittgenstein’s text in surveyable tree form and the publication of the “supplements” in the two appendices will be very useful.”—Duncan Richter, Professor of Philosophy, Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies, Virginia Military InstituteTable of ContentsVorwort von Luciano Bazzocchi; Introduction to This Edition by P. M. S. Hacker; Historical Note by Luciano Bazzocchi; Logisch- philosophische Abhandlung; Anhang A: Ergänzungen; Anhang B: „Späne und Sägemehl“.

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Book SynopsisThe book is a first detailed discussion of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Colour, a compilation of writings on the subject from the last fifteen months of his life. The origin and significance of the remarks are explained along with a remark-by-remark guide to what Wittgenstein says. In addition to serving as an account of the thought recorded in the text, the book provides an interpretation of Wittgenstein’s treatment of colour concepts and an account of his distinctive philosophical style. Remarks on Colour is shown to be a good way into the philosophy, to reveal a great deal about how Wittgenstein approaches philosophy, and to bring out features of his thought elided, if not missed, by more general studies, especially those that focus on more finished work.Trade Review‘In this astonishing work of scholarship, Andrew Lugg elucidates and interprets a neglected late work of Wittgenstein’s. Not a summary but an unfolding that sheds light on the text line by line while clearing away the debris of misunderstandings. Wittgenstein emerges as his students, friends and contemporaries knew him, a powerful figure riveted by philosophical questions.’ — Béla Szabados, University of Regina, Canada‘The book is a significant contribution to the philosophy of colour. In the first detailed account of the origins, organization and arguments of Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Colour, Lugg discusses all remarks and argues that, in Wittgenstein’s view, colour concepts display logical necessities and logical impossibilities.’—Mauro L. Engelmann, The Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil‘Lugg's new work is much welcome for scholars and non-scholars interested in Wittgenstein's work in general and in his intriguing and intricate remarks on colors, in particular. I do not know any other material which investigates Wittgenstein's important critical reactions to Goethe's Farbenlehre with such detailed examination. A treatment of what Wittgenstein says remark by remark is a great contribution for all students of philosophy interested in metaphysics, epistemology and aesthetics of colors. Lugg's new book will become a vital reference in virtually any work on Wittgenstein's philosophical development.’ —Marcos Silva, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.‘This superbly researched and fascinating study of Wittgenstein’s widely neglected Remarks on Colour fills a major gap in Wittgenstein scholarship. Combining meticulous analysis of the text with a deep appreciation of Wittgenstein’s conception of philosophy, it will be welcomed by philosophers, artists, and anyone else with an interest in colour.’ — Dr Mario von der Ruhr, Swansea University, UK‘As Lugg notes in his extremely helpful new book, Wittgenstein observes that his “sentences are all to be read slowly”. Lugg takes Wittenstein at his word and discusses the often enigmatic remarks collected in his posthumous Remarks on Colour one by one. In this brilliantly lucid study of Wittgenstein’s late reflections on colour Lugg does his readers a great service by taking these ideas seriously as contributions to an illuminating examination of what, following Wittgenstein, may be called the “logic” of our colour terms.’ — Joachim Schulte, University of Zurich, Switzerland‘Andrew Lugg’s book is at once an exceedingly close reading and a far-reaching provocation. This careful, deep dive into Remarks on Colour yields a detailed analysis of Wittgenstein’s approach to philosophical questions about colour, while also making a case for Lugg’s own distinctive reflections on Wittgenstein’s work, early to late. — Naomi Scheman, University of Minnesota, USTable of ContentsPreface; Acknowledgements; Chapter One Wittgenstein on Colour, 1916–1949; Chapter Two Remarks on Colour, Part II; Chapter Three Remarks on Colour, III.1–42; Chapter Four Remarks on Colour, III.43–95; Chapter Five Remarks on Colour, III.96–130; Chapter Six Remarks on Colour, III.131–171; Chapter Seven Remarks on Colour, III.172–229; Chapter Eight Remarks on Colour, III.230–350; Chapter Nine Remarks on Colour, Part I; Chapter Ten Learning from Wittgenstein; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisWittgenstein’s May–June 1913 critique of Russell’s multiple-relation theory of judgement (or MRTJ) marked a crucial turning point in the lives of two great twentieth-century thinkers. It was also a watershed moment within the history of analytic philosophy itself. Yet scholarly consensus around a satisfactory interpretation of the nature of the critique, the extent of and reasons for its impact on Russell, along with the role it played within Wittgenstein’s development have remained elusive. With these facts in mind, this book aims to accomplish four interrelated goals. The first is to develop a compelling reading of Wittgenstein’s May–June 1913 critique of Russell’s MRTJ. The second is to defend this reading, called the ‘logical interpretation’ (or LI) against its most prominent competitors in the scholarly literature. Third, the book aims to situate Wittgenstein’s critique of the MRTJ and Russell’s reaction to it, within the broader context of each of Wittgenstein’s and Russell’s respective philosophical developments. Fourth and finally, the book aims to introduce students and scholars of early analytic philosophy to, and familiarize them with the historical events, textual evidence, scholarly controversies, letters, notes and diagrams, consideration of which is integral to constructing a plausible reading of Wittgenstein’s objection.Trade Review“This is the first comprehensive book length treatment of Wittgenstein’s critique of Russell’s multiple relation theory of judgment. Connelly covers all of the historical and philosophical issues surrounding Wittgenstein’s critique and offers a new and deeply interesting interpretation. It is a masterful achievement.” —Peter Hanks, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, USA“This book is an insightful and illuminating study, combining a rich critical summary of existing interpretations and an interesting new account. It is essential reading for all students and scholars of the Russell–Wittgenstein dispute concerning the nature of judgement” —Graham Stevens, Head of Philosophy Department, School of Social Science, University of Manchester, UK“James Connelly first conducts an expert tour through elusive primary sources and voluminous secondary literature in order to advance his own distinctive interpretation of the philosophical confrontation that waged between Russell and Wittgenstein in 1913. Secondly, Connelly demonstrates the ongoing and much-overlooked influence that this confrontation had over the evolution of Wittgenstein’s own philosophical development. For both of these reasons, Connelly has made a vital contribution to the history of early analytic philosophy.” —Samuel Lebens, Research Fellow, University of Haifa, IsraelTable of ContentsList of Common Abbreviations; Introduction; Chapter 1: Historical and Philosophical Background; Chapter 2: The Scholarly Controversy; Chapter 3: Russell’s Paralysis; Chapter 4: Wittgenstein on Truth, Logic and Representation.

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together David Cockburn’s best work on Wittgensteinian themes relating to ‘mind’ and ‘language’. While none of these papers is well described as ‘exegetical’, most are discussions of Wittgenstein, and all are discussions of themes central to his later work and strongly influenced by it. The papers can be roughly divided between ‘the philosophy of mind’ and ‘the philosophy of language’. They are, however, united by the idea that this standard classification of topics stands in the way of clear thinking about core issues, and, closely connected with that, united by the idea that the notion of a human being must be central to any philosophical treatment of them. Cockburn’s approach is marked by the detailed attention given to the human bodily form, and his approach to language by the central place given to the idea of conversation. The discussions are enriched by incorporating some consideration of our relation to non-human creatures. The papers are linked by an insistence on the inescapably ethical dimension of any adequate discussion of these issues. While the debt to Wittgenstein is enormous, a number of the papers involve what may be significant criticisms of him.Trade Review"These are deeply thoughtful papers. David Cockburn turns our attention to features of our lives that we too frequently lose sight of in philosophy. Readers will especially profit from the wide-ranging and realistic examples and from the many ways Cockburn brings out the ethical significance of our philosophical questions about mind and language.” — Cora Diamond, Corcoran Department of Philosophy, University of Virginia"David Cockburn manages to throw new and unexpected light on some of the traditional problems of mind and language. His work is exceptional in its ability to combine depth of reflection with accessibility of presentation. This volume raises the question of what it means to be human, as this is brought out in our mutual relations, in expressive behaviour and conversation. Cockburn’s thought is characterized by attention to the ethical dimension which is crucial to an understanding of our shared life. The nature of humanity is further illuminated by an emphasis on the continuities between human and animal life. Ideas formulated by Wittgenstein are here carried forward in fruitful ways.” — Lars Hertzberg, Department of Philosophy, Åbo Akademi University"The intelligence at work in these essays is at once humane, subtle and penetrating. While David Cockburn has learnt deeply from Wittgenstein, the voice heard here is very distinctly Cockburn’s own. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully to it. Cockburn’s approach to the many themes of his essays is refreshingly free of ‘baggage’. It reflects an appreciation that you have to let whatever you write about show you how to write about it. The result is a freshness and an openness of philosophical thinking that is both very unusual, and urgently needed, in the contemporary philosophical scene. This is a terrific collection.” — Christopher Cordner, University of Melbourne, Victoria "This is a beautiful and rewarding collection. It brings together David Cockburn’s distinctively sensitive, careful, and original philosophical thinking around questions of what it means to be a human being and what Wittgenstein’s philosophy can teach us about it. — Maria Balaska, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire, UKThe volume is a collection of 12 essays, all of which, except for the introduction and the seventh chapter ‘Not Empiricism and Yet Realism’, have been published previously in some form. The essays span from the early ‘The Mind, the Brain and the Face’ from 1985, to ‘Deirdre’s Smile: Names, Faces and ‘the Simple Actuality’ of Another’, published in 2021. Reading the essays together as a whole, however, adds real value, since they are not introduced chronologically but organized thematically in a way that allows one to discern what is distinctive of Cockburn’s philosophical vision — Camilla Kronqvist, Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Philosophical Investigations 2022.This book makes available lectures and seminars on Spinoza that Peter Winch gave in the eighties, at Swansea and then at King’s College London. There are six chapters and the volume contains a substantial essay by David Cockburn, Winch, Spinoza, and the Human Body, in which he reflects on the lectures and on the conceptual difficulties of Spinoza’s detaching the concept of ‘body’ from the moorings of our common understanding— which moorings would, of course, represent for Spinoza an inadequate idea. In that case, what kind of interior changes have to occur if we are to arrive at an adequate idea?—a question relevant to how we assess Spinoza’s view of the relation between metaphysics and ethics — Michael McGhee, University of Liverpool; Michael Campbell and Sarah Tropper; Philosophical Investigations 2022.Table of ContentsPreface; Introduction; Part One Human Beings; Chapter One The Mind, the Brain and the Face; Chapter Two Commitment to Persons; Chapter Three Deirdre’s Smile: Names, Faces and ‘the Simple Actuality’ of Another; Chapter Four ‘Only of a Living Human Being’; Chapter Five Responsibility and Necessity; Part Two Wittgenstein; Chapter Six Meaning, Rules and Conversation; Chapter Seven ‘Not Empiricism and Yet Realism’; Chapter Eight ‘In the Beginning Was the Deed’; Chapter Nine Rush Rhees: The Reality of Discourse; Part Three Conversation; Chapter Ten Trust in Conversation; Chapter Eleven Ethics and Language: What We Owe to Speakers; Chapter Twelve A Study of Language in Primates; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisWords Underway offers the first full account of the important contributions the Continental tradition has made to the philosophy of language. Carolyn Culbertson examines the vital work of a range of thinkers, including Heidegger, Gadamer, Blanchot, and Kristeva. The book argues that Continental theorists are particularly helpful in recognizing our unique potential for becoming alienated from some discourse. At the same time, Culbertson argues that Continental philosophy of language tends not to treat the alienated relationship to language as something absolute. For most Continental theorists, at least, language is a living system, that is, a system maintained by undergoing constant expansion and transformation by language users. The book goes on to explore the attention Continental theorists have given to the way that forms of political power, for example gender dynamics in communication, can sometimes thwart this process and thus reinforce alienation. This book will transform the reader's sense of what the philosophy of language is about and will attract the attention of students and scholars of both philosophy of language and the Continental tradition.Trade ReviewCulbertson’s book breaks new ground in offering a comprehensive treatment of the philosophy of language from a Continental perspective, not simply a survey of representative authors but a unique thematic path for new directions that exceed standard assumptions: how normative and developmental elements take precedence over mere descriptive accounts of linguistic formats; how the experience of alienation is a key factor in human discourse and development; how creative openness is an ever-ready impetus in language; how constraining and liberating forces both contribute to identity formation and cultural possibilities. Highly recommended. -- Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy, Old Dominion UniversityCulbertson makes a clear and convincing argument for the importance of continental philosophy of language to contemporary thought, an argument that is accessible to beginners and useful to experts. Rather than surveying the entire field, she begins with Heidegger and Gadamer to establish the inescapable ways that language and existence are interwoven. She then complicates and enriches this picture by examining how continental thinkers address moments of “alienation” from language, from the traumas of the Holocaust, to the challenges of gender (Butler), from the silences of depression (Kristeva) to the agonies of colonialism (Derrida). She closes by returning to Heidegger and the questions posed at the beginning, so that the reader can see why it makes sense to speak of continental philosophy as a distinctive tradition. Her book is an important contribution to scholarship and to the classroom. -- Meili Steele, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of South CarolinaTable of ContentsIntroduction / 1. Walker Percy, Phenomenology, and the Mystery of Language / 2. Words That Neither Reveal nor Conceal: The Philosophical Depths of Literary Theory / 3. Rethinking Women's Silence: Contributions from Continental Feminism / 4. Language as Habitat: Doing Justice to Experiences of Linguistic Alienation / 5. Words Underway: The Ethics of Linguistic Life / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisWords Underway offers the first full account of the important contributions the Continental tradition has made to the philosophy of language. Carolyn Culbertson examines the vital work of a range of thinkers, including Heidegger, Gadamer, Blanchot, and Kristeva. The book argues that Continental theorists are particularly helpful in recognizing our unique potential for becoming alienated from some discourse. At the same time, Culbertson argues that Continental philosophy of language tends not to treat the alienated relationship to language as something absolute. For most Continental theorists, at least, language is a living system, that is, a system maintained by undergoing constant expansion and transformation by language users. The book goes on to explore the attention Continental theorists have given to the way that forms of political power, for example gender dynamics in communication, can sometimes thwart this process and thus reinforce alienation. This book will transform the reader's sense of what the philosophy of language is about and will attract the attention of students and scholars of both philosophy of language and the Continental tradition.Trade ReviewCulbertson’s book breaks new ground in offering a comprehensive treatment of the philosophy of language from a Continental perspective, not simply a survey of representative authors but a unique thematic path for new directions that exceed standard assumptions: how normative and developmental elements take precedence over mere descriptive accounts of linguistic formats; how the experience of alienation is a key factor in human discourse and development; how creative openness is an ever-ready impetus in language; how constraining and liberating forces both contribute to identity formation and cultural possibilities. Highly recommended. -- Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy, Old Dominion UniversityCulbertson makes a clear and convincing argument for the importance of continental philosophy of language to contemporary thought, an argument that is accessible to beginners and useful to experts. Rather than surveying the entire field, she begins with Heidegger and Gadamer to establish the inescapable ways that language and existence are interwoven. She then complicates and enriches this picture by examining how continental thinkers address moments of “alienation” from language, from the traumas of the Holocaust, to the challenges of gender (Butler), from the silences of depression (Kristeva) to the agonies of colonialism (Derrida). She closes by returning to Heidegger and the questions posed at the beginning, so that the reader can see why it makes sense to speak of continental philosophy as a distinctive tradition. Her book is an important contribution to scholarship and to the classroom. -- Meili Steele, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of South CarolinaTable of ContentsIntroduction / 1. Walker Percy, Phenomenology, and the Mystery of Language / 2. Words That Neither Reveal nor Conceal: The Philosophical Depths of Literary Theory / 3. Rethinking Women's Silence: Contributions from Continental Feminism / 4. Language as Habitat: Doing Justice to Experiences of Linguistic Alienation / 5. Words Underway: The Ethics of Linguistic Life / Bibliography / Index

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