Brevity in conversation is a window to the workings of the mind. This book brings it into prominence as both a multifaceted topic of deep philosophical importance and a phenomenon that serves as a testing ground for theories in linguistics, psycholinguistics, and computer modeling. Brevity is achieved in a variety of ways. Speakers use elliptical constructions and exploit salient features of the conversational environment in a process of pragmatic enrichment so as to pack as much as possible into a few words. They take account of what has already been said in the current and previous conversations, and tailor their words to what they know about the beliefs and personalities of the people they're talking to. Most of the time they do all this with no obvious mental effort. The book, which brings together distinguished linguists, philosophers, and cognitive scientists, is the product of an interactive multidisciplinary research project that extended over four years. The questions dealt with concern how speakers secure understanding of what they mean when what they mean far outstrips the literal or compositional meanings of the sentences or sentence fragments that they use. Brevity sheds new light on economy in discourse. It will appeal to linguists, philosophers, and psychologists at advanced undergraduate level and above.

First published in 1990 The Philosopher's Habitat introduces the subject by investigating a variety of the problems which are currently engaging philosophers, and which can be made intelligible to an absolute beginner. Rather than introducing philosophy by examining, in the traditional way, the writings of great philosophers, the author has inverted this procedure. The idea is that the reader will become absorbed in these dramas, will thereby come to appreciate the ways in which the stage was set by the great writers of the past, and will feel the urge to participate. Questions at the end of each chapter encourage the reader to push beyond the text. This book is a must read for students of philosophy.

"This is the first work to survey the myths created by the modernliterary imagination about technology." -- HerbertSussman

..". succeeds admirably, fascinatingly on allcounts... " -- American Literature

..". a landmark inthe study of literary and technological history." --NMAH

..". fascinating... a welcome addition to the growingscholarship about the impact of technology on the modern imagination." --Journal of Modern Literature Annual Review

This book chroniclesprecisely how the flying machine helped to create two kinds of apocalyptic modes inmodern literature.

Key Concepts in Philosophy is a series of concise, accessible and engaging introductions to the core ideas and subjects encountered in the study of philosophy. Specially written to meet the needs of students and those with an interest in, but little prior knowledge of, philosophy, the books open up fascinating, yet sometimes difficult ideas. The series builds to give a solid grounding in philosophy and each book is also ideal as a companion to further study. An understanding of logic is fundamental to the study of philosophy. This stimulating and thorough guidebook offers clear explanation and exploration of the central issues and questions addressed when studying logic. The topics covered include: Reason and unreason; Proving a point; Entailment; Truth; The logic of components of speech and language. This is an invaluable resource for those studying logic for the first time, this text provides a sound grasp of a fascinating, but often complex - and even daunting - component of philosophy.