
Words without Meaning
Christopher Gauker(Author)
Bradford Books (Publisher)
Published on 22. November 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
312 pages
978-0-262-57162-3 (ISBN)
Description
According to the received view of linguistic communication, the primary function of language is to enable speakers to reveal the propositional contents of their thoughts to hearers. Speakers are able to do this because they share with their hearers an understanding of the meanings of words. Christopher Gauker rejects this conception of language, arguing that it rests on an untenable conception of mental representation and yields a wrong account of the norms of discourse.Gauker's alternative starts with the observation that conversations have goals and that the best way to achieve the goal of a conversation depends on the circumstances under which the conversation takes place. These goals and circumstances determine a context of utterance quite apart from the attitudes of the interlocutors. The fundamental norms of discourse are formulated in terms of the conditions under which sentences are assertible in such contexts.Words without Meaning contains original solutions to a wide array of outstanding problems in the philosophy of language, including the logic of quantification, the logic of conditionals, the semantic paradoxes, the nature of presupposition and implicature, and the nature and attribution of beliefs.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Massachusetts
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-57162-3 (9780262571623)
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Christopher Gauker
Words without Meaning
Book
11/2002
Bradford Books
€60.60
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Person
Christopher Gauker is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cincinnati.