An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language (Modern Introductions to Philosophy)

Annotation ' ... a masterly introduction to the central issues that have defined the field since Frege.' Teaching Philosophy Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Autonomy of the Linguistic Sign....Pages 3-21 Reference and Generality....Pages 22-37 General Names and Particulars....Pages 38-47 Front Matter....Pages 49-49 Sense, Reference and Truth....Pages 51-65 Meaning and Verification....Pages 66-76 Logic and Ordinary Language....Pages 77-95 Meaning, Translation and Ontology....Pages 96-126 Truth and Interpretation....Pages 127-141 Naming, Necessity and Natural Kinds....Pages 142-162 Front Matter....Pages 163-163 Speech Acts....Pages 165-182 Meaning and Speakers’ Meaning....Pages 183-196 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Interlude: Stalemate and Revision....Pages 199-208 Objects and the Determinateness of Sense....Pages 209-226 Meaning and Use....Pages 227-258 Back Matter....Pages 259-303 A good deal of contemporary philosophical discussion appeals implicitly or explicitly to one or another doctrine about the nature of natural languages. In this book these doctrines are set out and subjected to critical examination as contributions to a philosophical topic worthy of discussion in its own rights. The book undertakes a systematic critical discussion of conflicting doctrines about linguistic meaning and the nature of natural languages current in contemporary philosophy. It is unique in its attempt to draw together and relate to each other all the important strands of theorizing about language which go on in contemporary philosophy. -- Back cover