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book: Philosophy of Language
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Philosophy of Language

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Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2010

About this book

A masterful overview of the philosophy of language from one of its most important thinkers

In this book one of the world's foremost philosophers of language presents his unifying vision of the field—its principal achievements, its most pressing current questions, and its most promising future directions. In addition to explaining the progress philosophers have made toward creating a theoretical framework for the study of language, Scott Soames investigates foundational concepts—such as truth, reference, and meaning—that are central to the philosophy of language and important to philosophy as a whole. The first part of the book describes how philosophers from Frege, Russell, Tarski, and Carnap to Kripke, Kaplan, and Montague developed precise techniques for understanding the languages of logic and mathematics, and how these techniques have been refined and extended to the study of natural human languages. The book then builds on this account, exploring new thinking about propositions, possibility, and the relationship between meaning, assertion, and other aspects of language use.

An invaluable overview of the philosophy of language by one of its most important practitioners, this book will be essential reading for all serious students of philosophy.

Author / Editor information

Scott Soames is professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California. His many books include What Is Meaning?, Philosophical Essays, Reference and Description, and Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century (all Princeton).

Reviews

"This 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. . . . It 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, Philosophia --- "[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."

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    Frontmatter

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    Contents

    v
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    Acknowledgments

    ix
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    Introduction

    1
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  • PART ONE: A Century of Work in the Philosophy of Language
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    CHAPTER ONE The Logical Study of Language

    7
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    CHAPTER TWO: Truth, Interpretation, and Meaning

    33
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    CHAPTER THREE: Meaning, Modality, and Possible Worlds Semantics

    50
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    CHAPTER FOUR: Rigid Designation, Direct Reference, and Indexicality

    77
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  • PART TWO: New Directions
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    CHAPTER FIVE: The Metaphysics of Meaning: Propositions and Possible Worlds

    109
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    CHAPTER SIX: Apriority, Aposteriority, and Actuality

    131
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    CHAPTER SEVEN: The Limits of Meaning

    145
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    References

    175
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    Index

    187
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
July 26, 2010
eBook ISBN:
9781400833931
Edition:
Course Book
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400833931
eBook ISBN: 9781400833931
Keywords for this book
A priori and a posteriori; Adjective; Ambiguity; Anaphora (linguistics); Antecedent (grammar); Approximation; Ascription; Bertrand Russell; Classical logic; Clause; Conjunct; Consequent; Contradiction; Counterfactual conditional; Definite description; Demonstrative; Denotation; Description; Empirical evidence; Epistemic possibility; Epistemology; Essentialism; Existence; Explanation; Explanatory model; Falsity; Formal language; Frege's Puzzle; Generalized quantifier; Gottlob Frege; Illustration; Implicature; Indexicality; Inference; Instance (computer science); Intension; Intensional logic; Kripke; Liar paradox; Linguistic description; Linguistics; Logic; Logical connective; Logical consequence; Logical truth; Mathematics; Meaning (linguistics); Meaning postulate; Modal logic; Modal operator; Natural kind; Natural language; Noun; Noun phrase; Ontological commitment; Philosopher; Philosophical analysis; Philosophical logic; Philosophical theory; Philosophy; Philosophy of language; Phrase; Possible world; Predicate (grammar); Predicate (mathematical logic); Preposition and postposition; Presupposition; Pronoun; Proposition; Propositional attitude
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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