Description
Book SynopsisMark Wilson investigates the way we get to grips with the world conceptually, and the way that philosophical problems commonly arise from this. He combines traditional philosophical concerns about human conceptual thinking with illuminating data derived from physics and applied mathematics, cognitive psychology, and linguistics.
Trade ReviewLate Twentieth Century philosophical theories of concepts confine their movements within a surprisingly constrained Carnapian compass...But there is something wholly new under the sun. Mark Wilson's Wandering Significance represents the intrusion into this tired tradition of a theoretical approach that is both strikingly original and genuinely deep. The evidence, considerations, and ideas he brings into play do not stem from any recognizable prior philosophical school, constellation, or tradition. What he offers is new conceptual framework that is motivated and supported by concrete, detailed investigations of actual concepts "under a microscope" and "pushed to the limit". * Robert Brandom, Philosophical and Phenomenological Research *
This monumental volume aims to redirect philosophical work on concepts towards explaining how we can successfully navigate the daunting complexity of the natural world. * Christopher Pincock, Philosophia Mathematica *
Table of Contents1. Wide Screen ; 2. Lost Chords ; 3. Classical Glue ; 4. Theory Facades ; 5. The Practical Go of It ; 6. The Virtues of Cracked Reasoning ; 7. Linguistic Wayfaring ; 8. Song of the Master Idea ; 9. Semantic Mimicry ; 10. The Critic of Nature and Genius
