New Thinking about Propositions

by Jeffrey C. King, Scott Soames, Jeff Speaks

Overview

Philosophy (especially philosophy of language and philosophy of mind), science (especially linguistics and cognitive science), and common sense all sometimes make reference to propositions—understood as the things we believe and say, and the things which are (primarily) true or false. There is, however, no widespread agreement about what sorts of things these entities are. In New Thinking about Propositions, Jeffrey C. King, Scott Soňames, and Jeff Speaks argue that commitment to propositions is indispensable, and that traditional accounts of propositions are inadequate. They each then defend their own views of the nature of propositions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198776802
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey C. King is Professor II and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of Complex Demonstratives: A Quantificational Account (MIT Press, 2001), and The Nature and Structure of Content (Clarendon Press, 2007).

Scott Soňames is Distinguished Professor and Director of the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he taught for twenty-four years at Princeton University before moving to Southern California. He is the author of several books in the philosophy of language and the history of analytic philosophy.

Jeff Speaks is Rev. John A. O'Brien Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of several articles in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Jeff SpeaksPart I - Common ground1. What role do propositions play in our theories?, Jeffrey C. King2. What's wrong with semantic theories which make no use of propositions?, Jeff Speaks3. Why the traditional conceptions of propositions can't be correct, Scott SoňamesPart II - Three theories of propositions4. Naturalized propositions, Jeffrey C. King5. Propositions are properties of everything or nothing, Jeff Speaks6. A cognitive theory of propositions, Scott SoňamesPart III - Critical essays7. Criticism of Soňames and Speaks, Jeffrey C. King8. Representational entities and representational acts, Jeff Speaks9. Critique of two views: propositions as properties & propositions as facts, Scott SoňamesPart IV - Further thoughts10. Reply to Speaks and Soňames, Jeffrey C. King11. Representation and structure in the theory of propositions, Jeff Speaks12. Clarifying and improving the cognitive theory to meet its explanatory burden, Scott SoňamesBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Overall, the book is a splendid contribution to the field, and does genuinely offer 'new thinking' about the perennially problematic status of propositions." — The Philosophical Quarterly

From the Publisher