Philosophy of language Books

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 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 SynopsisIn this collection an international team of experts explores the philosophical and scientific study of human language and communication during the Hellenistic period. It provides a significant survey of the development of classical theories of language and their impact on the linguistic theories of later periods, notably the Middle Ages.Trade Review"The carefully-edited volume includes useful indexes and a bibliography. All significant Greek and Latin quotations are presented both in the original and in translation. This collection covers an area that deserves attention, and is essential reading for those who study Hellenistic philosophy." Laura Grams, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Journal of the History of Philosophy"Scrupulously researched and thought-provoking, but also very entertaining...There is a great deal of food for thought here. All in all an excellent volume, and a worthy member of the series." --Phoenix: Journal of the Classical Association of CanadaTable of ContentsIntroduction Dorothea Frede and Brad Inwood; 1. The Stoics on the origin of language and the foundations of etymology James Allen; 2. Stoic linguistics, Plato's Cratylus, and Augustine's De dialectica A. A. Long; 3. Epicurus and his predecessors on the origin of language Alexander Verlinsky; 4. Lucretius on what language is not Catherine Atherton; 5. Communicating cynicism: Diogenes' gangsta rap Ineke Sluiter; 6. Common sense: concepts, definition and meaning in and out of the Stoa Charles Brittain; 7. Varro's anti-analogist David Blank; 8. The Stoics on fallacies of equivocation Susanne Bobzien; 9. What is a disjunction? Jonathan Barnes; 10. Theories of language in the Hellenistic age and in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Sten Ebbesen.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWritten in an outstandingly clear and lively style, this 1969 book provokes its readers to rethink issues they may have regarded as long since settled.Trade Review'This small but tightly packed volume is easily the most substantial discussion of speech acts since John Austin's How to do things with words and one of the most important contributions to the philosophy of language in recent decades.' The Philosophical Quarterly'This book has immediately, and justly, been accorded the status of a major contribution to the philosophy of language. The brilliant but programmatic insights of Austin's How to do things with words are systematically developed and integrated with the more recent work of philosophers such as Grice, Rawls and Searle himself to produce an apparently comprehensive and certainly illuminating general theory, summarized in what Searle terms the 'main hypothesis' of the book, 'speaking a language is engaging in a rule-governed form of behaviour.' Mind'The main merit of Searle's book - and it is a very substantial merit indeed - is that by attempting to construct a systematic theory of speech acts it substantially advances out knowledge of the problems that have to be solved in this fascinating field. Even if Searle himself has not yet found a wholly satisfactory way through the jungle, he has certainly established a number of clearings which will greatly facilitate subsequent explorations.' Philosophical Review'Written in an outstanding clear and lively style, it provokes its readers to rethink issues they may have regarded as long since settled.' The Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPart I. A Theory of Speech Acts: 1. Methods and scope; 2. Expressions, meaning and speech acts; 3. The structure of illocutionary acts; 4. Reference as a speech act; 5. Predication; Part II. Some Applications of the Theory: 6. Three fallacies in contemporary philosophy; 7. Problems of reference; 8. Deriving 'ought' from 'is'; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a book about the concept of a physical thing and about how the names of things relate to the things they name. It questions the prevalent view that names 'refer to' or 'denote' the things they name. Instead it presents a new theory of proper names, according to which names express certain special properties that the things they name exhibit. This theory leads to some important conclusions about whether things have any of their properties as a matter of necessity. This will be an important book for philosophers in metaphysics and the philosophy of language, though it will also interest linguists concerned with the semantics of natural language.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Ontology; 2. Things and their parts; 3. Some properties of things; 4. A theory of names; 5. Necessity and essentialism; References; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this book, Christopher Celenza provides an intellectual history of the Italian Renaissance during the long fifteenth century, from c.13501525. His book fills a bibliographic gap between Petrarch and Machiavelli and offers clear case studies of contemporary luminaries, including Leonardo Bruni, Poggio Bracciolini, Lorenzo Valla, Marsilio Ficino, Angelo Poliziano, and Pietro Bembo. Integrating sources in Italian and Latin, Celenza focuses on the linked issues of language and philosophy. He also examines the conditions in which Renaissance intellectuals operated in an era before the invention of printing, analyzing reading strategies and showing how texts were consulted, and how new ideas were generated as a result of conversations, both oral and epistolary. The result is a volume that offers a new view on both the history of philosophy and Italian Renaissance intellectual life. It will serve as a key resource for students and scholars of early modern Italian humanism and culture.Trade Review'In The Intellectual World of the Italian Renaissance, Christopher Celenza provides a priceless vademecum for the study of Italian humanism. It rolls up in a delectable ball all that has come before: Garin and Kristeller; Burckhardt, Baron, and Martines; Fubini and Vasoli; Hankins, Allen, and the others. It presents in depth and with exquisite clarity the major works of nine leading humanists from Petrarch to Poliziano (plus many others introduced in discursive 'parentheses'), culminating with the writer and critic Pietro Bembo, who translates the humanist heritage into a new language of art, a Latinized Tuscan. The lucidity of the explication de textes is matched by the precision with which Celenza profiles his cast of characters, who are presented with full dimensionality in their psychological, social, and cultural contexts: the careerist Poggio, the brawler Valla, the self-made man and Medici servitor Poliziano.' Margaret L. King, The Catholic Historical Review'This is an immensely learned book, written in a clear, accessible style and rich in insight and understanding. Celenza has followed the currents of language and philosophy - which he defines, as do his sources, as the love of wisdom rather than a defined discipline - as elements in the search for meaning and hence self-knowledge and shared values. It is the ideal place to begin a journey into the ideas and debates that informed the intellectual world of the Italian Renaissance.' Kenneth Bartlett, American Historical Review'… Celenza presents a rich analysis and narrative of what it meant to participate in Renaissance Italian intellectual life. I recommend his book - either as a whole, or individual chapters as essays - to undergraduates studying intellectual life during the Florentine Renaissance, or to graduate students and early researchers, as a robust and very clear introduction to Renaissance intellectual life and Renaissance humanism.' Barry Torch, Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme'The Intellectual World of the Italian Renaissance offers an accessible synthesis of intellectual history in Italy from Petrarch to Pietro Bembo … This book will become the standard introductory text to the subject for students, while specialists will also find here a well-written and thoughtful account of a topic that so often defies synthetic treatment … Historians and students of thought, culture and society, as well as literary scholars and students will all find much to ponder here.' Brian J. Maxson, H-Net reviews'This is an immensely learned book, written in a clear, accessible style and rich in insight and understanding.' Kenneth Bartlett, The American Historical Review'This is a rich and engaging study. Not a history of Renaissance philosophy as such, it is, rather, an examination of the intellectual worlds of the fifteenth century and in particular of the dominant role of Latin.' Michael J. B. Allen, Renaissance QuarterlyTable of Contents1. Beginnings; 2. Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio; 3. The Italian Renaissance takes root in Florence; 4. Florentine humanism, translation, and a new (old) philosophy; 5. Dialogues, institutions, and social exchange; 6. Who owns culture? Classicism, institutions, and the vernacular; 7. Poggio Bracciolini; 8. Lorenzo Valla; 9. The nature of the Latin language: Poggio versus Valla; 10. Valla, Latin, Christianity, culture; 11. A changing environment; 12. Florence: Marsilio Ficino, I; 13. Ficino, II; 14. The voices of culture in late fifteenth-century Florence; 15. 'We barely have time to breathe'. Poliziano, Pico, Ficino, and the beginning of the end of the Florentine Renaissance; 16. Angelo Poliziano's Lamia in context; 17. Endings and new beginnings: the language debate.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPragmatists have traditionally been enemies of representationalism but friends of naturalism, when naturalism is understood to pertain to human subjects, in the sense of Hume and Nietzsche. In this volume Huw Price presents his distinctive version of this traditional combination, as delivered in his Renà Descartes Lectures at Tilburg University in 2008. Price contrasts his view with other contemporary forms of philosophical naturalism, comparing it with other pragmatist and neo-pragmatist views such as those of Robert Brandom and Simon Blackburn. Linking their different 'expressivist' programmes, Price argues for a radical global expressivism that combines key elements from both. With Paul Horwich and Michael Williams, Brandom and Blackburn respond to Price in new essays. Price replies in the closing essay, emphasising links between his views and those of Wilfrid Sellars. The volume will be of great interest to advanced students of philosophy of language and metaphysics.Trade Review'A fascinating set of lectures, commentaries, and replies. I have learned much from the arguments that Huw Price and the commentators advance.' Allan Gibbard, University of Michigan'Price's book is a refreshing and commendable addition to recent work on representationalism. His arguments are novel and forceful.' Analysis and Metaphysics'If I could make it required reading for all first-year philosophy graduate students, I would.' Joshua Gert, MindTable of ContentsNotes on the contributors; Preface; Part I. The Descartes Lectures 2008: 1. Naturalism without representationalism; 2. Two expressivist programmes, two bifurcations; 3. Pluralism, 'world' and the primacy of science; Part II. Commentaries: 4. Pragmatism: all or some?; 5. Naturalism, deflationism and the relative priority of language and metaphysics; 6. How pragmatists can be local expressivists; Part III. Postscript and Replies: 7. Prospects for global expressivism; Bibliography; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume is concerned with the logic and the philosophy of language, and comprises fifteen important texts on questions of meaning and inference that formed the basis of Medieval philosophy. The editors have provided a full introduction to the volume and detailed introductory headnotes to each text; the volume is also indexed comprehensively.Trade Review"As we expect from Kretzmann, the scholarship is impeccable, and the major points the reader needs to know are made clearly and succinctly. Those of us with an interest in medieval grammar have needed for some time a guide like this to the parallel tradition." Canadian Journal of LinguisticsTable of Contents1. Boethius: on division; 2. Anonymous: abbreviatios Montana; 3. Peter of Spain: predictables; categories; 4. Lambert of Auxerre; properties of terms; 5. Anonymous: syncategoremata Monacensia; 6. Nicholas of Paris syncategoremata (selections); 7. Peter of Spain: syllogisms, topics, fallacies (selections); 8. Robert Kilwardby: the nature of logic: dialectic and demonstration; 9. Walter Burley: consequences; 10. William Ockham: modal consequences; 11. Albert of Saxony: insolubles; 12. Walter Burley: obligations (selections); 13. William Heytesbury: the compounded and divided senses; 14. William Heytesbury: the verbs 'know' and 'doubt'; 15. Boethius of Dacia: the sophisma 'every man is of necessity an animal'.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn Searle's Speech Acts made a highly original contribution to work in the philosophy of language. Expression and Meaning is a direct successor, concerned to develop and refine the account presented in Searle's earlier work, and to extend its application to other modes of discourse such as metaphor, fiction, reference, and indirect speech arts.Trade Review'[The essays] are written with typical Searlean vigor, clarity, and originality. The result is a volume that deserves more than a mealy-mouthed speech act issuance of the 'You ought to read it' sort, which could be countered without inconsistency with 'But don't bother if you are busy.' Instead, I issue a straight directive: Read it!' Language in Society'Expression and Meaning collects some characteristically forthright and provocative essays on outstanding topics.' John McDowell, The London Review of Books'As one would expect, this is a stimulating collection. Searle is sensitive to detail, but I am most stuck by his penchant for bold distinctions and explanations. And he is systematic; the book considerably enlarges the earlier theory.' Brian Loar, The Philosophical Review'There is a great deal of meat in Searle's treatment of metaphor, as elsewhere in his book, giving it an important place among the steadily increasing works that are developing the foundations, implications and applications of act theory.' Monroe C. Beardsley, International Studies in PhilosophyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; Introduction; Origins of the essays; 1. A taxonomy of illocutionary acts; 2. Indirect speech acts; 3. The logical status of fictional discourse; 4. Metaphor; 5. Literal meaning; 6. Referential and attributive; 7. Speech acts and recent linguistics; Bibliography; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMental Spaces is the classic introduction to the study of mental spaces and conceptual projection, as revealed through the structure and use of language. It examines in detail the dynamic construction of connected domains as discourse unfolds. The discovery of mental space organization has modified our conception of language and thought: powerful and uniform accounts of superficially disparate phenomena have become available in the areas of reference, presupposition projection, counterfactual and analogical reasoning, metaphor and metonymy, and time and aspect in discourse. The present work lays the foundation for this research. It uncovers simple and general principles that lie behind the awesome complexity of everyday logic.Trade Review'In Fauconnier's, at long last, published book Mental Spaces, he describes a theory of human knowledge representation and linguistic processing that provides a simple and uniform account of a wide variety of problems that have long perplexed both linguists and philosophers of language … Fauconnier's theory is particularly important in its identification of the role of cognitive factors, especially principles for organizing knowledge and procedural strategies for semantic interpretation, in what is often loosely termed the 'logic' of natural language … The study of mental spaces as a cohesive and pervasive organizational device is a powerful new idea.' John Dinsmore, Cognitive ScienceTable of Contents1. Pragmatic functions and images; 2. Roles and multiple connectors; 3. Presuppositions: floating, transfer, and projection strategies; 4. Counterfactuals and comparatives; 5. Transspatial operators, philosophical issues, and future perspectives; Notes; References; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of the most important and influential philosophers of the last 30 years, John Searle has been concerned with a single overarching question: how can we have a unified and theoretically satisfactory account of ourselves and of our relations to other people and to the natural world?Trade Review"The scope and consistency of these views, which have now became classical, is truly impressing...Searle is doing some genuinely pioneering work here, suggesting some genuinely new research programs in philosophy of mind."- Alexandre Billon, Metapsychology Online ReviewsTable of Contents1. The problem of consciousness; 2. How to study consciousness scientifically; 3. Consciousness; 4. Animal minds; 5. Intentionality and its place in nature; 6. Collective intentions and actions; 7. The explanation of cognition; 8. Intentionalistic explanations in the social sciences; 9. Individual intentionality and social phenomena in the theory of speech acts; 10. How performatives work; 11. Conversation; 12. Analytic philosophy and mental phenomena; 13. Indeterminacy, empiricism and the first person; 14. Skepticism about rules and intentionality.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGottlob Frege (18481925) was unquestionably one of the most important philosophers of all time. He trained as a mathematician, and his work in philosophy started as an attempt to provide an explanation of the truths of arithmetic, but in the course of this attempt he not only founded modern logic but also had to address fundamental questions in the philosophy of language and philosophical logic. Frege is generally seen (along with Russell and Wittgenstein) as one of the fathers of the analytic method, which dominated philosophy in English-speaking countries for most of the twentieth century. His work is studied today not just for its historical importance but also because many of his ideas are still seen as relevant to current debates in the philosophies of logic, language, mathematics and the mind. The Cambridge Companion to Frege provides a route into this lively area of research.Trade Review'Central to this end were Frege's insights on quantification, the notation that expressed it, the logicist project, and the extension of mathematical notions like function and argument to natural language. The long-awaited Cambridge Companion to Frege is a compendium of Fregean scholarship that rigorously explores these and similar topics; editors Thomas Ricketts and Michael Potter have compiled a comprehensive collection of fourteen essays that individually provide focused appraisals of a number of Frege's most substantial insights.' Alexander Bozzo, University of Milwaukee'The long-awaited publication of The Cambridge Companion to Frege is a major event in Frege scholarship … Every serious reader of Frege should read it.' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (ndpr.nd.edu)Table of ContentsPreface; Note on translations; Chronology; 1. Introduction Michael Potter; 2. Understanding Frege's project Joan Weiner; 3. Frege's conception of logic Warren Goldfarb; 4. Dummett's Frege Peter Sullivan; 5. What is a predicate? Alex Oliver; 6. Concepts, objects, and the context principle Thomas Ricketts; 7. Sense and reference Michael Kremer; 8. On sense and reference: a critical reception William Taschek; 9. Frege and semantics Richard Heck; 10. Frege's mathematical setting Mark Wilson; 11. Frege and Hilbert Michael Hallett; 12. Frege's folly Peter Milne; 13. Frege and Russell Peter Hylton; 14. Inheriting from Frege: the work of reception, as Wittgenstein did it Cora Diamond.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book traces the linguistic turns in the history of modern philosophy and the development of the philosophy of language. Michael Losonsky shows how the history of the philosophy of language in the modern period is marked by an as yet unintegrated dichotomy between formal and pragmatic perspectives on language.Trade ReviewLosonky's timely book is clearly written, engaging and astute. it is well worth careful study and will no doubt provide the emerging field of the history of the philosophy of language with a styrong base for years to come.' Benjamin Hill, British Journal for the History of PhilosophyTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Locke's linguistic turn; 2. The road to Locke; 3. Of Angels and human beings; 4. The form of a lanugage; 5. The importance of propositions; 6. The value of a function; 7. From silence to assent; 8. The whimsy of language.

Read more less

Book SynopsisUsing the examples of English and Mandarin Chinese, Crain demonstrates that the underlying expressions and structures in these typologically different languages directly correlate to those of classical logic. Moreover Crain presents experimental data which shows the emergence of these concepts in the languages spoken by young children.Trade Review'This careful and sophisticated study provides powerful empirical evidence, from many sources, for logical nativism, the thesis that human languages make use of the logical concepts and laws of classical logic, and that these are contingent facts that are not learned and not required for a rational creature. It extends the conclusion to other aspects of natural language, its acquisition and use. The conclusions are compelling, and of great import for linguistics, philosophical logic, and psychology of language and mind quite generally.' Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology'In this lucid study of how children understand logical vocabulary, Crain makes a powerful case for a substantive form of logical nativism. Using tools from classical logic and generative grammar, he unifies a range of individually impressive experimental results, thereby illustrating his fruitful method for investigating how semantic and logical competences are related.' Paul M. Pietroski, University of Maryland'New and deep ideas are a rarity in the study of language acquisition, and Stephen Crain's The Emergence of Meaning has plenty of both. This is likely to be considered one of the most important books in language acquisition in years.' Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Language Instinct and The Stuff of ThoughtTable of Contents1. Logic and human languages; 2. Competing approaches to language and logic; 3. The case for logical nativism; 4. Scope parameters; 5. How something can be both positive and negative; 6. Two logical operators for the price of one.

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 SynopsisIn this book Saul Kripke brings his powerful philosophical intelligence to bear on Wittgensteina s analysis of the notion of following a rule.Trade Review"Saul Kripke has thought uncommonly hard about the central argument of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and produces an uncommonly clear and vivid account of that argument ... clearly and compellingly presented ... an exemplary piece of exposition." Times Literary Supplement "A detailed examination of what is clearly a central theme in Wittgenstein's writings." Times Higher Education Supplement "Kripke does bring a whole range of things into focus in a striking and provocative way ... What Kripke has achieved, I think, is the first successful translation of what Wittgenstein was saying into the idiom of the contemporary Anglo-American mainstream in philosophy ... full of excellent things." (Australasian Journal of Philosophy) "Saul Kripke has thought uncommonly hard about the central argument of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and produces an uncommonly clear and vivid account of that argument ... clearly and compellingly presented ... an exemplary piece of exposition." (Times Literary Supplement) "A detailed examination of what is clearly a central theme in Wittgenstein's writings." (Times Higher Education Supplement)Table of ContentsPreface. Introductory. The Wittgensteinian Paradox. The Solution and the 'Private Language' Argument. Postscript Wittgenstein and Other Minds. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the past decade the work of Jurgen Habermas has sparked off a series of lively debates over modernity and post--modernity, the nature of language, the interplay of law and politics and the dilemmas of morality.Trade Review"is to be highly recommended as a basic critical commentary for both specialist and non-specialist alike." Philosophical Studies "A valuable resource not only in providing an interest perspective on Habermas's work but in offering a guide to much of the relevant literature on it." Philosophical Quarterly . "A clear, cogent, sympathetic-critical discussion of issues." James L Marsh, Fordham University .Table of ContentsAcknowledgements1. The Dilemmas of Modernity2. The Strategy of the Theory of Communicative Action3. The Problems in the Theory of Communicative Action4. Discourse Ethics5. Communication and the Law6. Reading Habermas: Modernity versus Post-Modernity Jurgen Habermas: A Bibliography by Rene GortzenIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn introduction to language acquisition, designed to meet the needs of advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in linguistics and cognitive science. It is written from the perspective of theoretical linguistics, and uses Chomskyan generative grammar as a framework.Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: Linguistics and Language Acquisition. 1.1.Knowledge of Language: Competence and Performance. 1.2. Types of Linguistic Knowledge. 1.3. The Projection Problem. 1.4. Universal Grammar. 1.5. Outline. Notes. Further Reading. 2. Phonological Acquisition. 2.1. Speech Sounds. 2.1.1. How Sounds are Made. 2.1.2. Features. 2.2. Phonetics, Phonology and Language Variation. 2.3. Categorical Perception in Adults and Infants. 2.4. Early Speech Sounds. 2.5. Feature Acquisition. 2.6. Child Phonologies. 2.6.1. Segmental Rules. 2.6.2. Suprasegmentals. 2.7. Problems and Ideas. 2.8. Summary and Conclusions. Notes. Further Reading. Questions and Exercises. 3. Morphological Development and Innovation. 3.1. Types of Morphological Rules. 3.2. A Morphological Model. 3.3. Children's Knowledge of Level Ordering. 3.4. Rule Use and Innovation. 3.5. Problems and Unknowns. 3.6. A Cross-Linguistic Perspective. 3.7. Summary and Conclusions. Questions and Exercises. 4. The Acquisition of Syntax. 4.1. Syntactic Structures and Universal Grammar. 4.1.1. Basic Syntax. 4.1.2. Levels of Representation. 4.1.3. Universal Grammar: Principles and Parameters. 4.1.4. Modules of Government Binding Theory. 4.1.5. Government Binding Theory and the Acquisition of Syntax. 4.2. The Outer Course of Development. 4.3. Early Syntax. 4.3.1. Early Phrase Structure. 4.3.2. Subjectless Sentences. 4.4. Syntax in Pre-School Years. 4.4.1. Children's Knowledge Of the Binding Theory. 4.4.2. Bounding Theory and the Development of Movement. 4.4.3. Children's Grammar of Control. 4.4.4. Summary. 4.5. Syntactic Development after Age Six. 4.6. Syntactic Development: Some Popular Ideas Reconsidered. 4.6.1. 'Semantics First'. 4.6.2. 'Syntax is Late'. 4.7. Summary and Conclusions. Notes. Further Reading. Questions and Exercises. 5. Further Aspects of Syntactic and Semantic Development. 5.1. The Auxiliary System of English. 5.1.1. Auxiliary Verbs and Morphological Endings. 5.1.2. Negation and "Do" Support'. 5.1.3. A Syntactic Analysis. 5.2. The Acquisition of Auxiliary Systems: Syntax. 5.3. The Acquisition of Negation. 5.4. An Aside on Developmental Orders and Individual Development. 5.5. The Acquisition of Modality, Tense and Aspect. 5.5.1. Modality. 5.5.2. Tense and Aspect. 5.6. The Development of Word Meanings. 5.6.1. Word Meanings. 5.6.2. The Semantic Feature Hypothesis. 5.6.3. Challenges to the Semantic Feature Hypothesis. 5.7. Quantification and Logical Form. 5.8. Summary and Conclusions. Note. Further Reading. Questions and Exercises. 6. Cognition, Environment and Language Learning. 6.1. Innateness. 6.2. Input and Errors. 6.3. The Role of Universal Grammar in Language Development. 6.4. Learnability and Acquisition Principles. 6.4.1. Subjacency and Degree-n Learnability. 6.4.2. The Subset Principle. 6.5. Summary: Components of a Learning Model. 6.6. Some Questions and Problems in Acquisition Theory. 6.6.1. Markedness and Orders of Acquisition. 6.6.2. Continuity or Maturation?. 6.6.3. Parameter Setting vs. Hypothesis Testing. 6.7. The Limits of the Linguistic Model: Lexical Learning. 6.8. Motherese. 6.9. Language Development and Cognitive Development. 6.9.1. Specificity and the Logic of Learning. 6.9.2. Constructivism and Developmental Orders. 6.10. Summary and Conclusions. Notes. Further Reading. Questions and Exercises. 7. Performance Development. 7.1. Estimating Competence. 7.2. Adult Processing Mechanisms. 7.2.1. A Model. 7.2.2. Grammar vs. General Knowledge and Strategies. 7.2.3. Words-to-Message Processing. 7.3. Children's Sentence Processing. 7.3.1. On-line Computation of Syntactic Structure. 7.3.2. Strategies and Children's Comprehension. 7.3.3. Resolution Strategies. 7.4. Discourse Integration. 7.5. Summary and Conclusions. Notes. Further Reading. Questions and Exercises. Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe idea that there once existed a language which perfectly and unambiguously expressed the essence of all possible things and concepts has occupied the minds of philosophers, theologians, mystics and others for at least two millennia.Trade Review"This is as much a history of the study of language and its origins as it is a tour de force pursuit using scholarly detection and cultural interpretation, thus providing a series of original perspectives on two thousand years of European history." The Medieval ReviewTable of ContentsSeries Editor's Preface. Introduction. 1. From Adam to Confusio Linguarum. . Genesis 2, 10, 11. Before and After Europe. Side-effects. A Semiotic Model for Natural Language. 2. The Kabbalistic Pansemioticism. . The Reading of the Torah. Cosmic Permutability and the Kabbala of Names. The Mother Tongue. 3. The Perfect Language of Dante. Latin and the Vernacular. Language and Lingusitic Behavior. The First Gift to Adam. Dante and Universal Grammar. The Illustrious Vernacular. Dante and Abulafia. 4. The Ars Magna of Raymond Lull. . The Elements of the Ars Combinatoria. . The Alphabet and the Four Figures. The Arbor Scientarium. The Concordia Universalis of Nicholas of Cusa. 5. The Monogenetic Hypothesis and the Mother Tongues. . The Return to Hebrew. Postel's Universalistic Utopia. The Etymological Furor. Conventionalism, Epicureanism and Polygenesis. The Pre-Hebraic Language. The Nationalistic Hypotheses. Philosophers against Monogeneticism. A Dream that refused to Die. New Prospects for the Monogenetic Hypothesis. 6. Kabbalism and Lullism in Modern Culture. Magic Names and Kabbalistic Hebrew. Kabbalism and Lullism in the Steganographies. Lullian Kabbalism. Bruno: Ars Combinatoria and Infinite Worlds. Infinite Songs and Locutions. 7. The Perfect Language of Images. Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The Egyptian Alphabet. Kircher's Egyptology. Kircher's Chinese. The Kircherian Ideology. Later Critics. The Egyptian vs. the Chinese Way. Images for Aliens. 8. Magic Language. Hypotheses. Dee's Magic Language. Perfection and Secrecy. 9. Polygraphies. Kircher's Polygraphy. Beck and Becher. First Attempts at a Content Organizations. 10. A Priori Philosophical Languages. . Bacon. Comenius. Descarted and Mersenne. The English Debate on Character and Traits. Primitives and Organization Content. 11. George Dalgarno. 12. John Wilkins. . The Tables and the Grammar. The Real Characters. The Dictionary: Synonyms, Periphrases, Metaphors. An Open Classification?. The Limits of Classification. The Hypertext of Wilkins. 13. Francis Lodwick. . 14. From Liebniz to the Encyclopédie. Characteristica and Calculus. The Problem of the Primitives. The Encyclopedia and the Aphabet of Thought. Blind Thought. The I Ching and the Binary Calculus. Side-effects. The 'Library' of Liebnitz and the Encyclopédie. 15. Philosophic Language from the Enlightenment to Today. . Eighteenth-century Projects. The Last Flowering of Philosophic Languages. Space Languages. Artificial Intelligence. Some Ghosts of the Perfect Language. 16. The Internatonal Auxiliary Languages. The Mixed Systems. The Babel of A Posteriori Languages. Esperanto. An Optimized Grammar. Theoretical Objections and Counter-objections. The 'Political' Possibilitites of an IAL. Limits and Effability of an IAL. Conclusion. Translation. The Gift to Adam. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of philosophical essays in honour of Noam Chomsky's 60th birthday, designed to reflect the breadth of Chomsky's philosophical and linguistic thought. Among topics discussed are the nature of semantic theory, the modular organization of the mind and logical form.Table of ContentsWhy should the mind be modular?, Jerry A. Fodor; meaning and the mental - the problem of semantics after Chomsky, Norbert Hornstein; logical form and linguistic theory, Jaako Hintikka; types and tokens in linguistics, Sylvian Bromberger; how not to become so confused about linguistics, Alexander George; when is a grammar psychologically real?, Christopher Peacocke; tacit knowledge and subdoxastic states, Martin Davies; knowledge of reference, James Higginbotham; wherein is language social?, Tyler Burge; language and communication, Michael Dummett; model theory and the "Factuality of Semantics", Hilary Putnam; Wittgenstein's rule-following considerations and the central project of theoretical linguistics, Crispin Wright.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNoam Chomskya s work has had a decisive influence on the development of linguistics and more broadly on the study of mind and language. This book, which contains two new papers by Chomsky, assesses that a Chomskyan Turna in linguistics and the cognitive sciences.Table of ContentsPart I. Linguistics and Adjacent Fields: A Personal View: Noam Chomsky Linguistics and Cognitive Science: Problems and Mysteries: Noam Chomsky Part II. Why Phonology is Different: Sylvain Bromberger (Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) and Morris Halle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Redefining the Goals and Methodology of Linguistics: Victoria A. Fromkin (University of California) Grammar, Meaning and Indeterminacy: Norbert Hornstein (University of Maryland) Pragmatics and Chomsky's Research Programme: Asa Kasher (Tel-Aviv University) 'Cartesian' Linguistics? Justin Leiber (University of Houston) Psychological Reality of Grammars: Robert J. Matthews (Rutgers) Rules and Principles in the Development of Generative Syntax: Frederick J. Newmeyer (University of Washington) Rules and Representation: Chomsky and Representational Realism: Zenon Pylyshyn (University of Western Ontario) On the Argument from the Poverty of the Stimulus: Ken Wexler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Part III. On the Status of Referential Indices: Luigi Rizzi (University of Geneva) Concepts of Logical Form in Linguistics and Philosophy: Shalom Lappin (Tel-Aviv University) Syntax, Semantics and Logical Form: Robert May (University of California) Non-Quantificational LF: Tanya Reinhart (Tel-Aviv University) LF and the Structure of the Grammar: Comments: Susan D. Rothstein (Bar-Ilan University)

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow does human language contribute to the cognitive edge humans have over other species? Incorporating research results in psychology, the author develops an original account of language acquisition which holds important implications for standard theories of language and the philosophical foundations of cognitive science.Trade Review"Rita Nolan successfully criticizes ideas -among them, Fodor's 'language of thought' model and Chomsky's 'innateness hypothesis' -that have dominated cognitive psychology and linguistics for decades. But this is much more than a critical book, valuable as good philosophical criticism always is; with a remarkable combination of philosophical imagination and breadth of knowledge, she illuminates the entire area of philosophy and psychology of language. The social practice account of language that she proposes sheds light on a host of topics (including the philosophy of the earlier and the later Wittgenstein), and it leads her to suggest a novel but highly plausible reconceptualization of the development of logical and linguistic skills in the child that will fascinate psychologists as well as philosophers." Hilary Putnam, Harvard UniversityTable of ContentsPreface. Introduction. Part I: Language and Cognitive Dynamics:. 1. The Question. 2. Language Realism. 3. Cognitive Dynamics. 4. Society and Language. 5. Desiderata for a Theory of Language. 6. The Standard Theory. 7. Foci for Revision. Part II: The Code Metaphor for Languages:. 8. The Semantic Content of the Code Metaphor. 9. Referential Semantics: Breaking the Code?. 10. The New Code Theory. 11. Mature Competency and Language Learning. Part III: Language Entry:. 12. Linguistic Constructionalism. 13. The Fallacy of Linguistic Supervenience. 14. Semantic Theory and Language Learning. 15. Reconceptualizing Language Acquisition. 16. How Long Does it Take?. 17. Superordination. 18. The Cognitive Import of Superordination. 19. The Categorical Structure of Discourse. 20. Conclusion. Part IV: Society in Mind:. 21. The Superordination Hypothesis. 22. Unavailable Routes to Language Entry. 23. Two Questions. 24. Interpreting Early Speech. 25. Early Syntax. 26. But What Is Predication?. Part V: From Response to Assertion:. 27. Is There a Transition from Response to Assertion. 28. Subjects and Predicates. 29. Formal Approaches to Predication. 30. Sensation, Perception, Conception and Judgement. 31. Categories of Perception, Categories of Conception. 32. The Generality Constraint. 33. Developmental Data. 34. From Perceptual Categories to Conceptual Categories. 35. The Emergence of Predication. 36. Some Consequences of "Thick" Superordination. Part VI: Discursive Practices:. 37. Mutant Predicates. 38. Conceptual Structures. 39. Towards a Topology of Concepts. 40. Conceptual Structures. 41. Meaning as Analogical. 42. Discourse Genres. 43. Non-Gricean Pragmatists. 44. Socially Contingent Phenomena. 45. The Attitudes as Socially Contingent. 46. Substructural Indeterminacy. References. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis text introduces students to the central arguments that motivate contemporary work in the philosophy of thought and language, and offers a continuous engagement with the core epistemological, metaphysical and methodological issues that have shaped and been shaped by work in the field.Trade Review"Luntley writes clearly...and defends his philosophical claims with arguments. The breadth and depth of his scholarship are impressive. This book should be in the library of any school where philosophy is studied." H. Pospesel, Choice "...lucid and engaging style...ability to cover well-trodden ground in a fresh and informative way...Luntley is to be commended for the scope of his project. He pursues the neo-Fregean methodology wherever it leads and many of the topics it leads him to are dealt with extremely well. Luntley is able to condense often difficult and complex material, making it accessible even to fairly novice readers, and providing new insights and outlooks which will be of benefit to all those with an interest in the...philosphy of mind and language." Emma Borg, Mind, Vol. 109, No. 436, October 2000Table of ContentsPreface. 1. Methodologies. 2. Russell's Theory of Descriptions. 3. The Semantic Theory of Truth. 4. Truth and Meaning. 5. Interpretation, Minimal Truth and the World. 6. Meaning, Metaphysics and Logic. 7. The Possibility of a Naturalistic Theory of Meaning. 8. What is a Theory of Reference?. 9. Sense and Reference. 10. The Causal Theory of Reference and the Social Character of Meaning. 11. Content and Context. 12. Contextual Content. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis* Distinguished list of critics: William G. Lycan, Galen Strawson, Jeffrey Poland, Georges Rey, Frances Egan, Paul Horwich, Peter Ludlow, Paul Pietroski, Alison Gopnik, and Ruth Millikan. * Includes Chomskya s substantial new replies and responses to each essay. * The best critical introduction to Chomskya s thought as a whole.Trade Review"When intellectual histories of the twentieth century are written, Noam Chomsky will surely be acknowledged as one of its major figures. Given his enormous influence, it is imperative that Chomsky's ideas be scrutinized, and I can't think of a better arena than this book, in which Chomsky and his critics are given the elbow room to work out their disagreements with the subtlety and depth that they deserve." Steven Pinker, MIT, and author of The Language Instinct "More than forty years ago, Noam Chomsky began a revolution in the way that philosophers think about the mind and about language. The essays in this fine volume make it clear that the Chomskian revolution is still very much underway and that we are far from agreement on the implications of Chomsky’s work. These cutting-edge essays – and Chomsky’s characteristically insightful replies – are full of fresh insights and acute arguments. They are essential reading for anyone interested in the extraordinary impact Chomsky has had on philosophy." Stephen Stich, Rutgers University "This is a first-rate volume for advanced students and scholars in philosophy, linguistics, and cognitive science that will advance understanding of Chomsky's work for years to come." Choice "This is a first-rate volume for advanced students and scholars in philosophy, linguistics, and cognitive science that will advance understanding of Chomsky's work for years to come." Choice, December 2003Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors. Acknowledgements. Introduction: Norbert Hornstein (University of Maryland, College Park) and Louise M. Antony (The Ohio State University). 1. Chomsky on the Mind-Body Problem: William G. Lycan (University of North Carolina). 2. Chomsky's Challenge to Physicalism: Jeffrey Poland (University of Nebraska-Lincoln). 3. Real Materialism: Galen Strawson (University of Reading). 4. Naturalistic Inquiry: Where does Mental Representation Fit In?: Frances Egan (Rutgers University). 5. Chomsky, Intentinality and a CRTT: Georges Rey (University of Maryland, College Park). 6. Referential Semantics for I-languages?: Peter Ludlow (State University of New York, Stony Brook). 7. Meaning and Its Place in the Language Faculty: Paul Horwich (Graduate Center of the City University of New York). 8. Small Verbs, Complex Events: Analyticity without Synonymy: Paul M. Pietroski (University of Maryland, College Park). 9. In Defense of Public Language: Ruth Garrett Millikan (University of Connecticut). 10. The Theory Theory as an Alternative to the Innateness Hypothesis: Alison Gopnik (Universtiy of California at Berkeley). 11. Replies: Noam Chomsky (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). 12. Major Works By and About Noam Chomsky (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe idea that there once existed a language which perfectly and unambiguously expressed the essence of all possible things and concepts has occupied the minds of philosophers, theologians, mystics and others for at least two millennia. This is an investigation into the history of that idea and of its profound influence on European thought, culture and history. From the early Dark Ages to the Renaissance it was widely believed that the language spoken in the Garden of Eden was just such a language, and that all current languages were its decadent descendants from the catastrophe of the Fall and at Babel. The recovery of that language would, for theologians, express the nature of divinity, for cabbalists allow access to hidden knowledge and power, and for philosophers reveal the nature of truth. Versions of these ideas remained current in the Enlightenment, and have recently received fresh impetus in attempts to create a natural language for artificial intelligence. Trade Review"This is as much a history of the study of language and its origins as it is a tour de force pursuit using scholarly detection and cultural interpretation, thus providing a series of original perspectives on two thousand years of European history." The Medieval ReviewTable of ContentsSeries Editor's Preface. Introduction. 1. From Adam to Confusio Linguarum. . Genesis 2, 10, 11. Before and After Europe. Side-effects. A Semiotic Model for Natural Language. 2. The Kabbalistic Pansemioticism. . The Reading of the Torah. Cosmic Permutability and the Kabbala of Names. The Mother Tongue. 3. The Perfect Language of Dante. Latin and the Vernacular. Language and Lingusitic Behavior. The First Gift to Adam. Dante and Universal Grammar. The Illustrious Vernacular. Dante and Abulafia. 4. The Ars Magna of Raymond Lull. . The Elements of the Ars Combinatoria. . The Alphabet and the Four Figures. The Arbor Scientarium. The Concordia Universalis of Nicholas of Cusa. 5. The Monogenetic Hypothesis and the Mother Tongues. . The Return to Hebrew. Postel's Universalistic Utopia. The Etymological Furor. Conventionalism, Epicureanism and Polygenesis. The Pre-Hebraic Language. The Nationalistic Hypotheses. Philosophers against Monogeneticism. A Dream that refused to Die. New Prospects for the Monogenetic Hypothesis. 6. Kabbalism and Lullism in Modern Culture. Magic Names and Kabbalistic Hebrew. Kabbalism and Lullism in the Steganographies. Lullian Kabbalism. Bruno: Ars Combinatoria and Infinite Worlds. Infinite Songs and Locutions. 7. The Perfect Language of Images. Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The Egyptian Alphabet. Kircher's Egyptology. Kircher's Chinese. The Kircherian Ideology. Later Critics. The Egyptian vs. the Chinese Way. Images for Aliens. 8. Magic Language. Hypotheses. Dee's Magic Language. Perfection and Secrecy. 9. Polygraphies. Kircher's Polygraphy. Beck and Becher. First Attempts at a Content Organizations. 10. A Priori Philosophical Languages. . Bacon. Comenius. Descarted and Mersenne. The English Debate on Character and Traits. Primitives and Organization Content. 11. George Dalgarno. 12. John Wilkins. . The Tables and the Grammar. The Real Characters. The Dictionary: Synonyms, Periphrases, Metaphors. An Open Classification?. The Limits of Classification. The Hypertext of Wilkins. 13. Francis Lodwick. . 14. From Liebniz to the Encyclopédie. Characteristica and Calculus. The Problem of the Primitives. The Encyclopedia and the Aphabet of Thought. Blind Thought. The I Ching and the Binary Calculus. Side-effects. The 'Library' of Liebnitz and the Encyclopédie. 15. Philosophic Language from the Enlightenment to Today. . Eighteenth-century Projects. The Last Flowering of Philosophic Languages. Space Languages. Artificial Intelligence. Some Ghosts of the Perfect Language. 16. The Internatonal Auxiliary Languages. The Mixed Systems. The Babel of A Posteriori Languages. Esperanto. An Optimized Grammar. Theoretical Objections and Counter-objections. The 'Political' Possibilitites of an IAL. Limits and Effability of an IAL. Conclusion. Translation. The Gift to Adam. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFormal Semantics: The Essential Readings is a collection of seminal papers that have shaped the field of formal semantics in linguistics.Trade Review"This volume contains a well-balanced selection of great papers covering fifteen vibrant years of semantic research. My own definition of a classic paper is a paper that is endlessly borrowed by students, but rarely returned. The papers in this volume all share the property that somewhere in the world somebody owns my copy of them. It's great to find them all collected here." Fred Landman, Tel Aviv University "Truth-conditional semantics has its roots in the work of Frege and analytic philosophy, which was designed to overcome the vagueness, ambiguities, and dubious ontological commitments of natural language. Curiously, this intellectual tradition provided the very foundation for the serious study of meaning in natural language. This collection of seminal articles bears witness to this astonishing development; it should be essential reading for linguists and philosophers who are seriously interested in linguistic meaning." Manfred Krifka, Humboldt UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Paul Portner and Barbara Partee 1 The Proper Treatment of Quantification in Ordinary English 17 Richard Montague 2 A Unified Analysis of the English Bare Plural 35 Greg Carlson 3 Generalized Quantifiers and Natural Language 75 Jon Barwise and Robin Cooper 4 The Logical Analysis of Plurals and Mass Terms 127 Godehard Link 5 Assertion 147 Robert C Stalnaker 6 Scorekeeping in a Language Game 162 David Lewis 7 Adverbs of Quantification 178 David Lewis 8 A Theory of Truth and Semantic Representation 189 Hans Kamp 9 File Change Semantics and the Familiarity Theory of Definiteness 223 Irene Heim 10 On the Projection Problem for Presuppositions 249 Irene Heim 11 Toward a Semantic Analysis of Verb Aspect and the English 'Imperfective' Progressive 261 David R Dowty 12 The National Category of Modality 289 Angelika Kratzer 13 The Algebra of Events 324 Emmon Bach 14 Generalized Conjunction and Type Ambiguity 334 Barbara Partee and Mats Rooth 15 Noun Phrase Interpretation and Type Shifting Principles 357 Barbara H Partee 16 Syntax and Semantics of Questions 382 Lauri Karttunen 17 Type-Shifting Rules and the Semantics of Interrogatives 421 Jeroen Groenendijk and Martin Stokhof 18 On the Notion Affective in the Analysis of Negative-Polarity Items 457 William A Ladusaw Index 471

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume provides a comprehensive collection of classic and contemporary readings in the philosophy of logic.Trade Review"The Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies have set a very high standard and Dale Jacquette's Philosophy of Logic handily maintains this customary level of breadth of coverage and importance of content. Its inclusion of a vast amount of interesting material will make teaching from this anthology a delight." Nicholas Rescher, University of Pittsburgh "Dale Jacquette in Philosophy of Logic: An Anthology brings together some of the most important papers in twentieth-century philosophy of logic ... as a source book for a course on philosophy of logic it is a useful collection. It would also provide supplementary reading for courses on philosophy of mathematics or language." Times Higher Education SupplementTable of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgments. Introduction: Logic and Philosophy of Logic: Dale Jacquette. Part I: Classical Logic:. 1. The Laws of Logic: Arthur Pap. 2. Russell's Mathematical Logic: Kurt Gödel. 3. Which Logic is the Right Logic?: Leslie H. Tharp. 4. What Can Logic Do For Philosophy?: Karl Popper. Part II: Truth, Propositions and Meaning:. 5. Truth and Meaning: Donald Davidson. 6. Outline of a Theory of Truth: Saul A. Kripke. 7. Tarski's Theory of Truth: Hartry Field. 8. Types and Ontology: Fred Sommers. 9. Propositions: George Bealer. Part III: Quantifiers and Quantificational Theory:. 10. Logic and Existence: Czeslaw Lejewski. 11. A Plea for Substitutional Quantification: Charles Parsons. 12. Nominalism and the Substitutional Quantifier: Ruth Barcan Marcus. 13. Interpretations of Quantifiers: Thomas Baldwin. 14. Language Games for Quantifiers: Jaakko Hintikka. Part IV: Validity, Inference and Entailment:. 15. Bolzano's Concept of Consequence: Rolf George. 16. On the Concept of Logical Consequence: Alfred Tarski. 17. The Pure Calculus of Entailment: Alan Ross Anderson and Nuel D. Belnap, Jr. 18. Formal and Material Consequence: Stephen Read. 19. Tarski on Truth and Logical Consequence: John Etchemendy. Part V Modality, Intensionality and Propositional Attitude:. 20. What are Possible Worlds?: John E. Nolt. 21. Quantifiers and Propositional Attitudes: W.V.O. Quine. 22. Counterpart Theory and Quantified Modal Logic: David Lewis. 23. Interpretation of Quantifiers: Dagfinn Follesdal. 24. A Backward Look at Quine's Animadversions on Modalities: Ruth Barcan Marcus. 25. Quantifying In: David Kaplan. 26. Substitutivity and the Coherence of Quantifying In: Graeme Forbes. 27. The Intensionality of Ontological Commitment: Michael Jubien. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisStarting with its tenth (2000) volume, Philosophical Issues will be a yearly one-volume supplement to Noûs. Each year it will be devoted to invited papers and book symposia in a specific area of philosophy. The yearly has attained distinction through the uniformly high quality of its previous nine volumes and the fact that its authors include many of the most distinguished philosophers active today. The topic of Volume 10 is controversies at the interface of epistemology with philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, including discussion of the sorites paradox and linguistic contextualism on attributions of knowledge.Table of Contents1 Skepticism and Contextualism. (Ernest Sosa). 2 Skepticism, Tracking, and Warrant. (James E. Tomberlin). 3 The Contextualist Evasion of Epistemology. (Hilary Kornblith). 4 Sensitivity, Indiscernibility And Knowledge. (Keith Leher). 5 Replies. (Ernest Sosa). 6 Contextualism and Externalism: Trading in One Form of Skepticism for Another. (Robert J. Fogelin). 7 Scrutinizing a Trade. (Jay F. Rosenberg). 8 What Has Contexualism to Do with Skepticism? (Enrique Villanueva). 9 What Has Contexualism and Levels of Scrutiny. (Luis M. Valdes- Villanueva). 10 Is Contextualism Stable ? (Micheal J. Williams). 11 Replies. (Robert J. Fogelin). 12 Contextualism and Skipticism. (Stewart Cohen). 13 Contextualism and the Real Nature of Academic Skipticism. (Peter D. Klein). 14 Reply to Cohen. (John Hawthorne). 15 Scepticism, Contextualism and Closure. (Josep L. Prades). 16 Replies. (Stewart Cohen). 17 Cogency and Question-Begging: Some Reflections on McKinsey’s Paradox. and Putnam’s Proof. (Crispin Wright). 18 On Wright ‘s Diagnosis of McKinsey’s Argument. (Alfonso Garcia Suarez). 19 Transmission and Closure. (Bob Hale). 20 Warrant-Transmission, Defeaters and Disquotations. (R.M. Sainsbury). 21 Replies. (Crispin Wright). 22 Vagueness and Partial Belief. (Stephen Schiffer). 23 Vagueness and Indirect Disclosure. (Manuel Garcia- Carpintero). 24 Stephen Schiffer’s Theory of Vagueness. (Paul Horwich). 25 Vagueness as a Psychological Notion. (Lourdes Valdivia). 26 Partial Belief and Borderline Cases. (Jorges Rodriguez Marqueze). 27 Vagueness- Related Attitudes. (David Barett). 28 Replies. (Stephen Schiffer). 29 Scepticism and the Principle of Inferential Justification. (John Greco). 30 Scepticism and Epistemic Kinds. (John Greco). 31 The Principle of Inferential Justification,Scepticism and Causal Beliefs. (Josep E. Corbi). 32 Memory and Justification: Hookway and Fumerton on Scepticism. (Carlos J. Moya and Tobies Grimaltos. 33 Replies. (Christopher Hookway). Contributor.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDerivation and Explanation in the Minimalist Program presents accessible, cutting edge research on an enduring and fundamental question confronting all linguistic inquiry the respective roles of derivation and representation. Presents accessible, cutting edge research on the respective roles of derivation and representation in syntactic inquiry. Discusses a wide range of phenomena and also includes alternative, representational perspectives. Features papers by M. Brody, C. Collins, S. Epstein, J. Frampton, S. Gutmann, N. Hornstein, R. Kayne, H. Kitahara, J. McCloskey, N. Richards, D. Seely, E. Torrego, J. Uriagereka, C.J.W. Zwart. Trade Review‘In this outstanding collection, leading researchers explore ways in which the rich, complex, and apparently varied phenomena of the languages of the world can be explained in terms of uniform principles of optimal design and external conditions that must be satisfied if language is to be usable at all. Following several different paths, these highly original, carefully crafted, and challenging essays open important new directions for research into some of the most fascinating issues of the study of language, with far-reaching implications beyond.’ Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Table of Contents1. Introduction: Derivation and explanation: Samuel David Epstein & T. Daniel Seely. 2. On the status of representations and derivations: Michael Brody. 3. Eliminating Labels: Chris Collins. 4. Rule applications as cycles in a level-free syntax: Samuel David Epstein & T. Daniel Seely. 5. Crash-proof syntax: John Frampton & Samuel Gutmann. 6. Reprojections: Norbert Hornstein & Juan Uriagereka. 7. Pronouns and their antecedents: Richard Kayne. 8. Scrambling, Case, and Interpretability: Hisatsugu Kitahara. 9. Resumption, successive cyclicity, and the locality of operations: James McCloskey. 10. Movement in a top-down derivation: Norvin Richards. 11. Arguments for a Derivational approach to syntactic relations based on clitics: Esther Torrego. 12. Issues relating to a derivational theory of binding: Jan-Wouter Zwart.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn Sturrock's classic explication of Structuralism represents the most succinct and balanced survey available of a major critical movement associated with the thought of such key figures as Lévi-Strauss, Foucault, Barthes, Lacan and Althusser theory. A classic work in literary and cultural theory. Reissued to coincide with calls for a return to structuralism. Includes a new introduction by Jean-Michel Rabaté, which explores developments in the reception of structuralist theory in the past five to ten years. Table of ContentsIntroduction 2003: Are you History? Jean-Michel Rabaté. Introduction to the second edition: John Sturrock. Language. Social Sciences. Semiotics. Literature. Post-Structuralism. Conclusion. Further Reading. Notes. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn Sturrock's classic explication of Structuralism represents the most succinct and balanced survey available of a major critical movement associated with the thought of such key figures as Lévi-Strauss, Foucault, Barthes, Lacan and Althusser theory. A classic work in literary and cultural theory. Reissued to coincide with calls for a return to structuralism. Includes a new introduction by Jean-Michel Rabaté, which explores developments in the reception of structuralist theory in the past five to ten years. Table of ContentsIntroduction 2003: Are you History? Jean-Michel Rabaté. Introduction to the second edition: John Sturrock. Language. Social Sciences. Semiotics. Literature. Post-Structuralism. Conclusion. Further Reading. Notes. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPhilosophical Perspectives, an annual, aims to publish original essays by the foremost thinkers in their fields, with each volume confined to a main area of philosophical research. Original essays by the foremost thinkers and academics of philosophy discussing the philosophy of language and mind Some of the main topics include demonstratives and anaphora, meaning and naming, belief and privileged access, modality, concepts and time, and paradox Table of ContentsPart I: Demonstratives and Anaphora:. 1. Competence with Demonstratives: James Higginbotham (University of Southern California). 2. Does Syntax Reveal Semantics? A Case Study of Complex Demonstratives: Kent Johnson (University of California, Irvine) and Ernie Lepore (Rutgers University). 3. Reference and Anaphora: R.M. Sainsbury (King's College, London). Part II: Meaning and Naming:. 4. Giorgione Was So-Called Because of His Name: Kent Bach (San Fransisco State University). 5. Truth-Conditional Pragmatics: Anne L. Bezuidenhout (University of South Carolina). 6. On Sense and Intention: David Chalmers (University of Arizona). 7. Do Adjectives Conform to Compositionality?: Marga Reimer (University of Arizona). Part III: Belief and Privileged Access. 8. Forms of Externalism and Privileged Access: Michael McKinsey (Wayne State University). 9. De Re and De Dicto: Against the Conventional Wisdom: Kenneth A. Taylor (Stanford University). 10. The Aim of Belief: Ralph Wedgwood (Merton College, Oxford). Part IV: Modality, Concepts, and Time:. 11. The Source of Necessity: Robert Hale (University of Glasgow). 12. Modality and What is Said: Jason Stanley (University of Michigan). 13. The Emperor's New Concepts: Neil Tennant (Ohio State University). 14. Time, Idealism, and the Identity of Indiscernibles: James Van Cleve (James Van Cleve). Part V: Paradox:. 15. The Resolution of Russell's Paradox in Principia Mathematica: Bernard Linsky (University of Alberta). 16. Vagueness and the Sorites Paradox: Kirk Ludwig and Greg Ray (Both University of Florida).

Read more less

Book SynopsisBrandom is one of the most original philosophers of our day, whose book Making It Explicit covered and extended a vast range of topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of language—the core of analytic philosophy. This new work provides an approachable introduction to the complex system that Making It Explicit mapped out.Trade ReviewDisplaying a sovereign command of the intricate discussion in the analytic philosophy of language, Brandom manages successfully to carry out a program within the philosophy of language that has already been sketched by others, without losing sight of the vision inspiring the enterprise in the important details of his investigation … Using the tools of a complex theory of language, Brandom succeeds in describing convincingly the practices in which the reason and autonomy of subjects capable of speech and action are expressed. -- Jürgen HabermasTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Semantic Inferentialism and Logical Expressivism 2. Action, Norms, and Practical Reasoning 3. Insights and Blindspots of Reliabilism 4. What Are Singular Terms, and Why Are There Any? 5. A Social Route from Reasoning to Representing 6. Objectivity and the Normative Fine Structure of Rationality Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisEsteemed philosopher Jocelyn Benoist argues for a renewed realism that takes seriously the context in which intention occurs. “What there is”—the traditional subject of metaphysics—can be determined only in context, Benoist contends, carving out a new path that rejects acontextual ontologies and approaches to the mind.Trade ReviewHere, the most erudite and insightful European philosopher brings welcome new perspectives to a variety of recent Anglophone debates. Toward a Contextual Realism breathes fresh air into what might otherwise become insular and sterile modes of philosophy. -- Charles Travis, King’s College LondonWhy should we consider reality to be contextual? Jocelyn Benoist’s stunning contribution to this question will engage scholars well beyond philosophy. A crucial corrective to the unduly restricted notions of context in semiotics and linguistics, this book points to a rigorous way of making the ontologies of others count. Showing grace and patience, Toward a Contextual Realism is a generous invitation to take thought forward. -- Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIs our logical form of thought merely one among many, or must it be the form of thought as such? From Kant to Wittgenstein, philosophers have wrestled with variants of this question. This volume brings together nine distinguished thinkers on the subject, including James Conant, author of the seminal paper “The Search for Logically Alien Thought.”Trade ReviewThis book is remarkable in its content, unique in its form, and innovative in its understanding of philosophical methodology. The essays in Part I provoke a lively dialogue. In his replies in Part II, Conant shows us the multiplicity of ways in which, in doing the history of philosophy, we blind ourselves to some philosophical possibility. In doing so, he enables us to see over and again a deep truth about the nature of philosophy and why it is difficult. The result is an exceptionally interesting and original work—one that is not so much an outstanding contribution to some ‘field’ within philosophy as a work capable of reshaping what one takes philosophy to be. -- Cora Diamond, author of Reading Wittgenstein with Anscombe, Going On to EthicsThis extraordinary book constitutes nothing less than a philosophical engagement with the history of fundamental conceptions of logic from Descartes to Leibniz, through Kant and Frege, to early and later Wittgenstein—an engagement that explores different ways of conceiving this history, different ways of conceiving what logic is, what thought and judgment are, as well as what knowledge is and how it relates to thought and judgment. There is a distinctive form of philosophical self-engagement that characterizes Conant’s remarkable ‘Replies’ in Part II. No reader can enter into this mode of self-engagement—this manner of working through layers of understanding and misunderstanding, layers of criticism and self-clarification—without herself becoming fruitfully entangled in the very kind of philosophical activity that these ‘Replies’ seek to exemplify. These pages are filled with nuances in conceptual clarification, a wealth of philosophical distinctions, and a level of rigor in philosophical reflection that is rarely found on our philosophical planet. This book will hold a singular place in the contemporary philosophical landscape. -- Andrea Kern, author of Sources of KnowledgeA carefully written and cleverly argued exploration of both historical and contemporary issues in the philosophy of logic. * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisCavell elaborates the view, traceable from Wittgenstein to Davidson, that there is no thought, and thus no meaning, without language, and shows how this concurs with psychoanalytic theory and practice.Trade ReviewAny psychologist interested in a deeper understanding of what it means to think in terms of unconscious processes will want to read Cavell's book. -- Alan Bass * Contemporary Psychology *An outstanding introduction to modern perspectives of psychoanalysis and philosophy and the synthesis of meaning and mind that they share. * Antioch Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFocusing on the 17th-century play of mourning, Walter Benjamin identifies allegory as the constitutive trope of modernity, bespeaking a haunted, bedeviled world of mutability and eternal transience. In this rigorous elegant translation, history as trauerspiel is the condition as well as subject of modern allegory in its inscription of the abyssal.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGiovanni Pontano, best known today as a Latin poet, also composed popular prose dialogues and essays. The De sermone, translated into English here for the first time as The Virtues and Vices of Speech, provides a moral anatomy of aspects of speech such as truthfulness, deception, flattery, gossip, bargaining, irony, wit, and ridicule.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIllustrates the significance of linguistic concerns for a broad range of philosophical topics - including the relationship between language and thought; the objects of belief, assertion, and other propositional attitudes; the distinction between metaphysical and epistemic possibility; and, the nature of necessity, actuality, and possible worlds.Trade Review"The wealth of ideas contained within this volume moves the philosophical conversation well forward with originality, high-level criticism, and exhaustive thoroughness. This work is so thick with detail that only a thin layer of the surface could be presented here; yet, hopefully, these samples paint an accurate picture of what is a precise, technical, and surgery-like analysis contribution to the contemporary conversation about the philosophical significance of language."--Austin Ward, DialogueTable of ContentsThe Origins of These Essays ix Introduction 1 Part One: Reference, Propositions, and Propositional Attitudes 31 Essay One: Direct Reference, Propositional Attitudes, and Semantic Content 33 Essay Two: Why Propositions Can't Be Sets of Truth-Supporting Circumstances 72 Essay Three: Belief and Mental Representation 81 Essay Four: Attitudes and Anaphora 111 Part Two: Modality 137 Essay Five: The Modal Argument: Wide Scope and Rigidified Descriptions 139 Essay Six: The Philosophical Significance of the Kripkean Necessary A Posteriori 165 Essay Seven: Knowledge of Manifest Natural Kinds 189 Essay Eight: Understanding Assertion 211 Essay Nine: Ambitious Two-Dimensionalism 243 Essay Ten: Actually 277 Part Three: Truth and Vagueness 301 Essay Eleven: What Is a Theory of Truth? 303 Essay Twelve: Understanding Deflationism 323 Essay Thirteen: Higher-Order Vagueness for Partially Defined Predicates 340 Essay Fourteen: The Possibility of Partial Definition 362 Part Four: Kripke, Wittgenstein, and Following a Rule 383 Essay Fifteen: Skepticism about Meaning: Indeterminacy, Normativity, and the Rule-Following Paradox 385 Essay Sixteen: Facts, Truth Conditions, and the Skeptical Solution to the Rule-Following Paradox 416 Index 457

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresents the author's vision of philosophy of language. Explaining the progress philosophers have made toward creating a theoretical framework for the study of language, this book investigates foundational concepts - such as truth, reference, and meaning - that are central to the philosophy of language and important to philosophy as a whole.Trade Review"[Philosophy of Language] covers an impressive number of controversies in philosophy of language. And it does that in a nontechnical way that is likely to prove attractive to many instructors in the field."--Choice "[T]his is, in my view, a very valuable (though not at all introductory) overview, from a particular perspective, to be sure, of the trajectory on the philosophy of language from Frege to the present... [I]t covers a remarkable amount of ground in a short space, both presenting and contributing to an important network of themes that have shaped the philosophical study of language in the analytic tradition."--Kirk Ludwig, PhilosophiaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 PART ONE: A Century of Work in the Philosophy of Language Chapter One: The Logical Study of Language 7 1.1 Gottlob Frege--Origins of the Modern Enterprise 7 1.11 Foundations of Philosophical Semantics 7 1.12 Frege's Distinction between Sense and Reference 8 1.13 The Compositionality of Sense and Reference 10 1.14 Frege's Hierarchy of Indirect Senses and Referents 13 1.15 The Semantic Importance of Frege's Platonist Epistemology 15 1.16 Potential Problems and Alternative Analyses 16 1.17 The Fregean Legacy 20 1.2 Bertrand Russell: Fundamental Themes 20 1.21 Quantification, Propositions, and Propositional Functions 20 1.22 Generalized Quantifiers 23 1.23 Denoting Phrases, Definite Descriptions, and Logical Form 24 1.24 Russell's Theory of Scope 26 1.25 Thought, Meaning, Acquaintance, and Logically Proper Names 28 1.26 Existence and Negative Existentials 30 Selected Further Reading 32 Chapter Two: Truth, Interpretation, and Meaning 33 2.1 The Importance of Tarski 33 2.11 Truth, Models, and Logical Consequence 33 2.12 The Significance of Tarski for the Philosophy of Language 38 2.2 Rudolf Carnap's Embrace of Truth-Theoretic Semantics 41 2.3 The Semantic Approach of Donald Davidson 45 Selected Further Reading 49 Chapter Three: Meaning, Modality, and Possible Worlds Semantics 50 3.1 Kripke-Style Possible Worlds Semantics 50 3.2 Robert Stalnaker and David Lewis on Counterfactuals 56 3.3 The Montagovian Vision 63 Selected Further Reading 75 Chapter Four: Rigid Designation, Direct Reference, and Indexicality 77 4.1 Background 77 4.2 Kripke on Names, Natural Kind Terms, and Necessity 78 4.21 Rigid Designation, Essentialism, and Nonlinguistic Necessity 78 4.22 The Nondescriptive Semantics of Names 80 4.23 Natural Kind Terms 88 4.24 Kripke's Essentialist Route to the Necessary Aposteriori 91 4.3 Kaplan on Direct Reference and Indexicality 93 4.31 Significance: The Tension between Logic and Semantics 93 4.32 The Basic Structure of the Logic of Demonstratives 94 4.33 Direct Reference and Rigid Designation 97 4.34 'Dthat' and 'Actually' 99 4.35 English Demonstratives vs.'Dthat'-Rigidified Descriptions 100 4.36 Final Assessment 104 Selected Further Reading 105 PART TWO : New Directions Chapter Five: The Metaphysics of Meaning: Propositions and Possible Worlds 109 5.1 Loci of Controversy 109 5.2 Propositions 111 5.21 Why We Need Them and Why Theories of Truth Conditions Can't Provide Them 111 5.22 Why Traditional Propositions Won't Do 113 5.23 Toward a Naturalistic Theory of Propositions 116 5.231 The Deflationary Approach 117 5.232 The Cognitive-Realist Approach 121 5.3 Possible World-States 123 5.31 How to Understand Possible World-States 123 5.32 The Relationship between Modal and Nonmodal Truths 126 5.33 Our Knowledge of World-States 126 5.34 Existent and Nonexistent World-States 128 5.35 The Function of World-States in Our Theories 129 Selected Further Reading 130 Chapter Six: Apriority, Aposteriority, and Actuality 131 6.1 Language, Philosophy, and the Modalities 131 6.2 Apriority and Actuality 132 6.21 Apriori Knowledge of the Truth of Aposteriori Propositions at the Actual World-State 132 6.22 The Contingent Apriori and the Apriori Equivalence of P and the Proposition That P Is True at @ 134 6.23 Why Apriority Isn't Closed under Apriori Consequence: Two Ways of Knowing @ 135 6.24 Apriori Truths That Are Known Only Aposteriori 136 6.25 Apriority and Epistemic Possibility 137 6.26 Are Singular Thoughts Instances of the Contingent Apriori? 140 6.3 'Actually' 142 Selected Further Reading 143 Chapter Seven: The Limits of Meaning 145 7.1 The Traditional Conception of Meaning, Thought, Assertion, and Implicature 145 7.2 Challenges to the Traditional Conception 147 7.21 Demonstratives: A Revision of Kaplan 147 7.22 Incomplete Descriptions, Quantifiers, and Context 151 7.23 Pragmatic Enrichment and Incomplete Semantic Contents 155 7.231 Implicature, Impliciture, and Assertion 155 7.232 Pervasive Incompleteness? Possessives, Compound Nominals, and Temporal Modification 158 7.3 A New Conception of the Relationship between Meaning, Thought, Assertion, and Implicature 163 7.31 The Guiding Principle 163 7.32 Demonstratives and Incomplete Descriptions Revisited 164 7.33 Names and Propositional Attitudes 168 7.4 What Is Meaning? The Distinction between Semantics and Pragmatics 171 Selected Further Reading 173 References 175 Index 187

Read more less

Book SynopsisSuitable for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas, this title covers close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms that defy easy translation between languages and cultures. It includes terms from more than a dozen languages.Trade ReviewWinner of a 2015 Outstanding Reference Sources Award, Reference and User Services Association, American Library Association One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2015, selected by Hari Kunzru One of The Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year 2014, chosen by David Wootton One of The Times Higher Education Supplement's Books of the Year 2014, chosen by Robert S. C. Gordon One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014 "[W]hat may be the weirdest book the twenty-first century has so far produced... [T]his is a considerable and entertaining book, full of odd words beautifully, at times owlishly, annotated."--Adam Gopnik, New Yorker "[An] extraordinary book... Many of the entries are illuminating, but what is most fascinating about the book is its partial vision of a fragment of European culture, through the dissection of its philosophical vocabulary."--Tim Crane, Times Literary Supplement "[A] cornucopia of lexical trajectories and semantic adventures across a wide variety of languages and histories... As for the achievement of Emily Apter, Jacques Lezra and Michael Wood in orchestrating the English edition, that qualifies as heroic ... this book is another valuable reminder that a philosophy that ignores its own history, that pretends to operate as if it had no history, is self-impoverishing."--Christopher Prendergast, London Review of Books Praise for the French edition: "This dictionary's great idea is to address European philosophy from the point of view of translation... [It] attains its goal by putting this principle to work: one cannot always translate a foreign concept in one word, but one can always explain it. And when one has grasped the explanation, one has acquired the concept."--Le Figaro Litteraire Praise from the French edition: "A dictionary cannot be summarized. One great lesson, nevertheless, which can be distilled from this one (it can be gathered in the masterworks of the entries 'Traduire' ['Translate'] and 'Langues et traditions' ['Languages and traditions']), is that no language is born a philosophical one. It becomes philosophical, as it engages in exchanges with other languages. Philosophical language is impure language, and a national philosophy cannot, therefore, exist. This conviction can perhaps be one of the meanings of the unity of Europe, to which the Vocabulaire renders homage, and service."--Vincent Aubin, Le Figaro (review translated by Mark Jensen) "[I]nteresting reading. The Dictionary of Untranslatables is a wonderful addition to my language library... [A] book to savor and think about and to learn in the broader sense of learning. For anyone interested in language, in words, and the scope of meaning that a word can encompass, I recommend the Dictionary of Untranslatables."--Rich Adin, American Editor "[G]reat success... By preserving the specificity of words in their source languages, but then proceeding though so many near-synonyms in other tongues, the Dictionary bridges this ideological divide, providing a different way of understanding what it is to be in, and between, languages."--Tom Bunstead, Independent on Sunday "[Y]ou should equip yourself with this extraordinary book... You could probably, and profitably, spend your life reading this book... The volume offers a detailed and up-to-date map of abstract thinking, from the classical age to now."--Douglas Kerr, South China Morning Post "The Dictionary of Untranslatables, newly translated from the French original, wears its modest megalomania well. An 11-year project involving some 150 contributors and comprising more than 400 entries, the Dictionary suggests comparison with Volume XI of the First Encyclopedia of Tlon, described by Borges as 'a vast and systemic fragment of the entire history of an unknown planet.' The planet in question here is what we usually call 'continental philosophy.'... [A] heady universe of speculative thinking about the meaning of life, the history of ideas, the fate of mankind, and so on... [T]he Dictionary is revealing for the way it sketches, lexically, a set of parallel but alternate intellectual traditions. What language teachers call 'false friends' are everywhere, inspiring a constant alertness to nuance... Scrupulous and difficult, it's everything that the Internet, which wants everything to talk 'frictionlessly' with everything else, is not. No dreams of universal translation here--enjoy the friction. Use it for bibliomancy, the lost art of divination by book (with scripture or Virgil or Homer or Hafiz)."--Ross Perlin, New Inquiry "A vast, lovingly detailed translator's note to western philosophy... This fascinating book belongs to the interesting-in-itself side."--George Miller, Le Monde Diplomatique "[This] is an invaluable reference for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas... It has already provided me with several pleasurable evenings of educational reading adventures, and promises many more for the future. A superb gift for English-speaking writers, linguists, verbivores and linguaphiles."--GrrrlScientist "The Dictionary demonstrates how much vitality and endurance these languages gain from the dialogue they engage in with other world languages--a dialogue structured and catalyzed by relations of power... As the Dictionary of Untranslatables amply documents, the academy's effects on language are every bit as far-reaching as those of colonialism, trade, and pop culture. The etymologies here are at once precise and profligate, proliferating across terms like Abstraction and Acedia, Drive and Disegno, Erscheinung and Essence, Melancholy and Mimesis, Praxis and Pravda... The struggle for clarity appears nowhere in ideal form but is always a thing unfolding in the world, a compound of ideology, politics, oppression, fear, desire--of all that is lost, and found, in translation."--Matthew Battles, Barnes and Noble Review "[A]stonishingly successful ... entertaining and revealing ... strikingly complete and correct... [A] fascinating book... The translation of European 'philosophy' into American 'theory' has probably been the most consequential event in American intellectual life in the last fifty years, but it has entailed a great deal of 'mistranslation.'... The Dictionary of Untranslatables, in addition to its other pleasures, has a great deal to teach American scholars of the humanities about the depth and complexity of the languages and discourses we've picked up only recently--and a few powerful suggestions about what we may find waiting when we choose to turn back to our own."--Michael Kinnucan, Asymptote "Dictionary of Untranslatables is a treasury of linguistic and philosophical paradoxes, both absorbing and diverting."--Alexander Adams, Spiked Review of Books "[T]his erudite volume is indispensable for advanced European philosophy, literature, and translation studies."--Choice "Dictionary of Untranslatables is one of the most solid, wide-ranging, and remarkable books of our time. Very few will ever read it cover to cover, but anyone who dips into it with a little background in the philosophical tradition, and a desire to learn more about what life is actually about, will be rewarded many times over for the effort."--John Toren, Rain Taxi Review of Books "All dictionaries are encyclopedias in disguise. But the Dictionary of Untranslatables is one of the most remarkably discursive works of reference I have encountered... [T]his giant tome, edited by Barbara Cassin, is ... a bonanza for anyone interested in the history of ideas--a kind of miniature Enlightenment."--Henry Hitchings, Wall Street Journal "This astoundingly erudite work instantly asserts itself as one of the high points in European scholarship."--James W. Underhill, Translation Studies "This is an essential volume for every university library."--Michel Petheram, Reference Reviews "A remarkable achievement--truly a cause for wonder."--Matthew Walker, Slavic and East European JournalTable of ContentsPreface vii Introduction xvii How to Use This Work xxi Principal Collaborators xxiii Contributors xxv Translators xxxiii Entries A to Z 1 Reference Tools 1269 Index 1275

Read more less