When words are called for : a defense of ordinary language philosophy / Avner Baz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baz, Avner, 1964-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ordinary-language philosophy.

Language and languages--Philosophy.

Language and languages.

Physical Description:

xv, 238 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, [2012]

Summary:

Originally embarking on this work in response to what he perceived as a hostility within contemporary analytic philosophy towards the later works of Wittgenstein (and those that sought to build upon them), Baz (philosophy, Tufts U.) came to understand that this hostility was rooted in a widespread, but unfounded, rejection of "ordinary language philosophy" (OLP) which was championed in the mid-20th century by Wittgenstein, as well as such Oxford-connected figures as J.L. Austin and Peter Strawson (both of whom figure prominently in Baz's arguments). Not seeking to defend any particular work of OLP, Baz instead seeks to promote OLP as a valuable general approach in its insistence that philosophers engage with the meaning of words in their everyday usage. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

The basic conflict: an initial characterization

The main arguments against ordinary language philosophy

Must philosophers rely on intuitions?

Contextualism and the burden of knowledge

Contextualism, anti-contextualism, and knowing as being in a position to give assurance

Conclusion: skepticism and the dialectic of (semantically pure) "knowledge"

Epilogue: ordinary language philosophy, Kant, and the roots of antinomial thinking.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-232) and index.

ISBN:

9780674055223

0674055225

OCLC:

755213493