![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Showing 1 - 7 of 7 matches in All Departments
The nature of reference, or the relation of a word to the object to which it refers, has been perhaps the dominant concern of twentieth-century analytic philosophy. Extremely influential arguments by Gottlob Frege around the turn of the century convinced the large majority of philosophers that the meaning of a word must be distinguished from its referent, the former only providing some kind of direction for reaching the latter. In the last twenty years, this Fregean orthodoxy has been vigorously challenged by those who argue that certain important kinds of words, at least, refer directly without need of an intermediate meaning or sense. The essays in this volume record how a long-term study of Frege has persuaded the author that Frege's pivotal distinction between sense and reference, and his attendant philosophical views about language and thought, are unsatisfactory. Frege's perspective, he argues, imposes a distinctive way of thinking about semantics, specifically about the centrality of cognitive significance puzzles for semantics. Freed from Frege's perspective, we will no longer find it natural to think about semantics in this way.
The nature of reference, or the relation of a word to the object to which it refers, has been perhaps the dominant concern of twentieth-century analytic philosophy. Extremely influential arguments by Gottlob Frege around the turn of the century convinced the large majority of philosophers that the meaning of a word must be distinguished from its referent, the former only providing some kind of direction for reaching the latter. In the last twenty years, this Fregean orthodoxy has been vigorously challenged by those who argue that certain important kinds of words, at least, refer directly without need of an intermediate meaning or sense. The essays in this volume record how a long-term study of Frege has persuaded the author that Frege's pivotal distinction between sense and reference, and his attendant philosophical views about language and thought, are unsatisfactory. Frege's perspective, he argues, imposes a distinctive way of thinking about semantics, specifically about the centrality of cognitive significance puzzles for semantics. Freed from Frege's perspective, we will no longer find it natural to think about semantics in this way.
In this volume of essays, Howard Wettstein explores the foundations of religious commitment. His orientation is broadly naturalistic, but not in the mode of reductionism or eliminativism. This collection explores questions of broad religious interest, but does so through a focus on the author's religious tradition, Judaism. Among the issues explored are the nature and role of awe, ritual, doctrine, religious experience; the distinction between belief and faith; problems of evil and suffering with special attention to the Book of Job and to the Akedah, the biblical story of the binding of Isaac; the virtue of forgiveness. One of the book's highlights is its literary (as opposed to philosophical) approach to theology that at the same time makes room for philosophical exploration of religion. Another is Wettstein's rejection of the usual picture that sees religious life as sitting atop a distinctive metaphysical foundation, one that stands in need of epistemological justification.
The late 20th century saw great movement in the philosophy of
language, often critical of the fathers of the subject--Gottlieb
Frege and Bertrand Russell--but sometimes supportive of (or even
defensive about) the work of the fathers. Howard Wettstein's
sympathies lie with the critics. But he says that they have often
misconceived their critical project, treating it in ways that are
technically focused and that miss the deeper implications of their
revolutionary challenge. Wettstein argues that Wittgenstein--a
figure with whom the critics of Frege and Russell are typically
unsympathetic--laid the foundation for much of what is really
revolutionary in this late 20th century movement.
In The Magic Prism, Wettstein argues that Wittgenstein, a figure with whom the critics of Frege and Russell are typically unsympathetic, laid the foundation for much of what is revolutionary in recent developments in the movement of philosophy of language.
Diaspora, considered as a context for insights into Jewish
identity, brings together a lively, interdisciplinary group of
scholars in this innovative volume. Readers needn't expect,
however, to find easy agreement on what those insights are. The
concept "diaspora" itself has proved controversial; "galut, "the
traditional Hebrew expression for the Jews' perennial condition, is
better translated as "exile." The very distinction between diaspora
and exile, although difficult to analyze, is important enough to
form the basis of several essays in this fine collection.
This anthology is composed of articles derived from a conference, entitled "Themes from Kaplan", at Stanford University which discussed the work of David Kaplan, a leading contemporary philosopher of language. A variety of philosophers participated in the conference including Robert Adams, Roderick Chisholme, Nathan Salmon, and Scott Soames. Their papers treat a broad range of themes related to Kaplan's work: some address his work directly, others are independent treatments of issues provoked by Kaplan's thought. The book also contains Kaplan's own previously unpublished essay, "Demonstratives."This essay formed the basis of Kaplan's John Locke lectures at Oxford. The essay has been one of the most influential pieces in the philosophy of language over the last twenty years.
|
![]() ![]() You may like...
The New York Times Sunday Best Crossword…
"The New York Times"
Paperback
|