We may begin by criticizing the metaphysical thesis that philosophy affords us knowledge of a reality transcending the world of science and common sense. Alexander miller is professor of philosophy at the university of birmingham, uk. One tradition, call it the system perspective, thinks of a language as a collection of formal rules. Central to that stance is naturalismthat is, they treat a philosophical theory of language as an empirical theory like any other and see people as nothing but complex parts of the physical world.
Making no pretense of neutrality, michael devitt and kim sterelny take a definite theoretical stance. Should our view of language influence our view of the world. Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy philosophy of language. Works such as experience and nature 1925 and logic. It has a history stretching back, in the western tradition, to the presocratics. In this introductory course on the philosophy of language, we examine views on the nature of meaning, reference, truth, and their relationships. Devitt and sterelnys language and reality along with a. Language and reality provides a lucid and provocative introduction to the philosophy of language. Unlike other introductory anthologies, the broadview. Nevertheless, given the expository purposes of this article, thats mostly what i will do.
Throughout his philosophical development, wittgenstein was more concerned with language than with any other topic. Introduction to philosophy of language linguistics and. An introduction to philosophy of language through systematic and accessible explanations of ten classic texts by such thinkers as frege, kripke, russell, and putnam. In this textbook, michael morris offers a critical introduction to the central issues of the philosophy of language. Apr 10, 2020 language and reality, an introduction to the philosophy of language according to devitt and sterelny, language and real 4. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left. I recommend it highly for teachers and advanced students in philosophy, linguistics and cognitive science. Both in india and in greece, linguistic speculation predates the emergence of grammatical traditions of systematic description of language, which emerged around the 5th century bc in india see yaska, and around the 3rd century bc in greece see rhianus.
This engaging and accessible introduction to the philosophy of language is an unrivalled guide to one of the liveliest and most challenging areas of philosophy and the new edition captures the vibrant energy of current debate. This collection of classic and contemporary essays in philosophy of language offers a concise introduction to the field for students in graduate and upperdivision undergraduate courses. It presents the problem of nately predisposed to learn languages p. Language and reality an introduction to the philosophy. Tibetan epistemology and philosophy of language stanford. It is not because english is the language of logic or the language of thought. Home collections hosted content computational linguistics vol. His books include language and reality with michael devitt.
Dewey and the linguistic turn john deweys mature thought is situated in the midst of 20th century philosophy. English grammar rules are made of a bunch of willynilly collections and arbitrary conventions. It can get technical read tedious at times but not so much as to bog down an interested reader. Language and reality, an introduction to the philosophy of language according to devitt and sterelny, language and real 4. An introduction to the philosophy of language, authormichael devitt and kim sterelny. An introduction to the philosophy of language this book is a critical introduction to the central issues of the philosophy of language. This volume of the broadview introduction to philosophy offers a thoughtful selection of readings in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion. As these stories illustrate, language affects many facets of human. An introduction to the philosophy of language cambridge. An excellent introduction to contemporary philosophy of language.
It overlaps to some extent with the study of epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind and other fields including linguistics and psychology, although for many analytic philosophers it is an important. Kripke, philosophical investigations by ludwig wittgenstein, tractatus logicoph. It brings together a range of topics and raises questions of central importance, explaining the relevance of these questions to broader issues. Each chapter focusses on one or two texts which have had a seminal influence on work in the subject, and uses these as a way of approaching both the central topics and the various traditions of dealing with them. Philosophy of language by branch doctrine the basics of.
Other topics may include relationships between language and logic, language and knowledge, language and reality, language and acts performed through its use. Pdf the language of philosophy and the philosophy of. Language and reality an introduction to the philosophy of language author. Because its investigations are conceptual rather than empirical, the philosophy of language is distinct from linguistics, though. The goal of this text is to present philosophy to newcomers as a living discipline with historical roots. Introduction this book focuses on two main facets of the philosophy of language. An introduction to the philosophy of language 9780262540995. How philosophical methodology a pplies to language as earlier stated in the introduction, the na ture and goal of philosophy are to stimulate critical and logical thoughts. What language is the best to learn if you want to study.
In truth, however, language can operate in all of these ways. Many beginning students in philosophy of language find themselves grappling with dense and difficult texts not easily understood by someone new to the field. An introduction to the philosophy of language by michael morris. The first discusses davidsons anv went to the store aand then truthconditional theory of meaning and briefly com. This leads them, controversially, to a deflationary view of the significance of the study of language. An introduction to the philosophy of language cambridge introductions to philosophy. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. I found the book both challenging and enlightening.
Apr 01, 1987 aside from that, this is a great introduction to the philosophy of language which hits on all the key issues. An introduction to t he philosophy of language michael devitt and kim sterelny department of traditional and modern philosophy, university of sydney, australia. Kim sterelny is professor of philosophy at australian national university and victoria university of wellington. An introduction to the philosophy of language by michael devitt and kim sterelny basil blackwell, 1987. Reviewed by bassam romaya, philosophy instructor, bloomsburg university of pennsylvania on 3719. Well cover sense and reference, beetles in boxes, and language games. Aside from that, this is a great introduction to the philosophy of language which hits on all the key issues. An introduction to philosophy open textbook library. Today we start our unit on language with a discussion of meaning and how we assign and understand meaning.
No other philosopher has been as influential on our understanding of the deep problems surrounding language, and yet the true significance of his writing on the subject is difficult to assess, since most of the current debates regarding language tend to overlook his work. The text is available at amherst books at 8 main street in downtown amherst. Kim sterelny language and reality provides a lucid and provocative introduction to the philosophy of language. Wittgenstein and the philosophy of language by thomas mcnally. One passage, if i recall correctly, basically credited a philosopher with connecting language to the most fundamental reality of existence. Because its investigations are conceptual rather than empirical, the philosophy of language is distinct from linguistics, though of course it must pay attention to the facts that linguistics and related disciplines reveal. Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the origins of language, the nature of meaning, the usage and cognition of language, and the relationship between language and reality. It overlaps to some extent with the study of epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind and other fields including linguistics and psychology, although for. As with most disciplines, philosophy comes with its own vast array of key terms, concepts, and vocabulary, which introductory students must learn in order to make sense of the disciplines contributions and key debates both past and present. Philosophy of language, philosophical investigation of the nature of language. What makes it even more confusing, is that for just about every theory or belief, there is an opposing theory, or a. Language use is a remarkable fact about human beings. Chapter 5 theories of philosophy is concerned with language.
An introduction to the philosophy of language by michael. If tibetan epistemology developed to a large extent in the framework of a commentarial tradition, this did not prevent it. While a few early chapters are historically organized, the goal in the historical chapters is to trace a developmental progression of thought that introduces basic philosophical methods and frames issues that remain relevant today. Language and reality an introduction to the philosophy of. It includes some of the most important basic sources in philosophy of language, as well as new essays by scholars on the leading edge of innovation in this. Philosophy of language by branch doctrine the basics. Language and reality, an introduction to the philosophy of language. Established in 1962, the mit press is one of the largest and most distinguished university presses in the world and a leading publisher of books and journals at the intersection of science, technology, art, social science, and design. Computational linguistics, volume 14, number 3, september 1988. In the west, inquiry into language stretches back to the 5th century bc with socrates, plato, aristotle, and the stoics. The birth of the tibetan epistemological tradition tib. Your final grade will be based on the following requirements. This book offers an introduction to philosophy of language by explaining. Pdf reading philosophy of language download full pdf.
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