Language and reality : an introduction to the philosophy of language / Michael Devitt and Kim Sterelny.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Devitt, Michael, 1938-

Contributor:

Sterelny, Kim.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Philosophy.

Language and languages.

Physical Description:

xvi, 342 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Other Title:

Language reality

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1999.

Summary:

What is language? How does it relate to the world? How does it relate to the mind? Should our view of language influence our view of the world? These are among the central issues covered in this spirited and unusually clear introduction to the philosophy of language. Making no pretense of neutrality, Michael Devitt and Kim Sterelny take a definite theoretical stance. Central to that stance is naturalism--that 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. This leads them, controversially, to a deflationary view of the significance of the study of language: they dismiss the idea that the philosophy of language should be preeminent in philosophy. This highly successful textbook has been extensively rewritten for the second edition to reflect recent developments in the field.

Notes:

"A Bradford book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [314]-331) and index.

ISBN:

0262540991

0262041731

OCLC:

40076700