Philosophy of Language: The Classics Explained

by Colin McGinn

Overview

An introduction to philosophy of language through systematic and accessible explanations of ten classic texts by such thinkers as Frege, Kripke, Russell, and Putnam.

Many beginning students in philosophy of language find themselves grappling with dense and difficult texts not easily understood by someone new to the field. This book offers an introduction to philosophy of language by explaining ten classic, often anthologized, texts. Accessible and thorough, written with a unique combination of informality and careful formulation, the book addresses sense and reference, proper names, definite descriptions, indexicals, the definition of truth, truth and meaning, and the nature of speaker meaning, as addressed by Frege, Kripke, Russell, Donnellan, Kaplan, Evans, Putnam, Tarski, Davidson, and Grice. The explanations aim to be as simple as possible without sacrificing accuracy; critical assessments are included with the exposition in order to stimulate further thought and discussion.

Philosophy of Language will be an essential resource for undergraduates in a typical philosophy of language course or for graduate students with no background in the field. It can be used in conjunction with an anthology of classic texts, sparing the instructor much arduous exegesis.

Contents
Frege on Sense and Reference • Kripke on Names • Russell on Definite Descriptions • Donnellan's Distinction • Kaplan on Demonstratives • Evans on Understanding Demonstratives • Putnam on Semantic Externalism • Tarski's Theory of Truth • Davidson's Semantics for Natural Language • Grice's Theory of Speaker Meaning

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262529822
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	09/02/2016
Series:	The MIT Press
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Colin McGinn has taught philosophy at institutions of higher learning including University College London, Rutgers University, and Oxford University. He is the author of The Character of Mind, Consciousness and Its Objects, The Meaning of Disgust, Philosophy of Language: The Classics Explained, Inborn Knowledge: The Mystery Within, Prehension: The Hand and the Emergence of Humanity (the last three published by the MIT Press), and other books.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Frege on Sense and Reference 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Identity 3

1.3 Additional Machinery 10

1.4 The Conception of Sense 12

1.5 Reference 16

1.6 Ordinary and Extraordinary Use 18

1.7 Further Points on Sense and Reference 20

1.8 Problems with Frege's Theory 23

1.9 Extension of Frege's Theory beyond Singular Terms

1.10 Further Aspects of Frege's Theory 31

2 Kripke on Names 35

2.1 Background 35

2.2 Kripke's Critique 39

2.3 Rigid Designation 42

2.4 Kripke's Epistemic Objections 45

2.5 The Causal Chain Theory 48

2.6 Objections to Kripke's Critique 49

2.7 The Social Character of Names 51

2.8 Essential Descriptions 52

2.9 Impure Descriptions 53

3 Russell on Definite Descriptions 55

3.1 Indefinite and Definite Descriptions 55

3.2 Three Theories of Definite Descriptions 60

3.3 Indefinite Descriptions and Identity 63

3.4 Russell's Rejection of Meinong's Ontology 65

3.5 The Details of Russell's Theory of Descriptions 67

3.6 Problems with Russell 72

3.7 Primary and Secondary Occurrences 74

4 Donnellan's Distinction 77

4.1 Introduction 77

4.2 Referential and Attributive Uses 78

4.3 Denoting and Referring 84

4.4 Truth-Value Gaps 85

4.5 Evaluating Donnellan's Distinction 87

4.6 Implication and Implicature 90

4.7 Further Objections to Russell's Theory 94

5 Kaplan on Demonstratives 97

5.1 Intension and Extension 97

5.2 Kaplan on Indexicals 100

5.3 The Two Principles of Indexicals 102

5.4 Context of Use and Conditions of Evaluation 105

5.5 Possible Worlds, Meaning, and Indexicals 109

5.6 Kaplan on "Today" and "Yesterday" 113

6 Evans on Understanding Demonstratives 115

6.1 The Fregean Theory of Indexicals 115

6.2 The Point of Indexicality 118

6.3 Evans's Theory of Sense and Reference for Indexicals 119

6.4 Saying versus Showing 122

6.5 Mock Sense 124

6.6 Empty Names 125

6.7 Evans's View of Names 126

6.8 Evans on "Today" and "Yesterday" 128

6.9 Character, Content, and Information 130

7 Putnam on Semantic Externalism 133

7.1 Background 133

7.2 Twin Earth and "Water" 134

7.3 Meanings Are Not in the Head 135

7.4 Criticisms of Putnam 143

8 Tarski's Theory of Truth 147

8.1 Background 147

8.2 Tarski's Criteria of Acceptability 149

8.3 Aristotle and the Redundancy Theory 151

8.4 Object Language and Metalanguage 155

8.5 How to Derive the T-Sentences 157

8.6 Satisfaction 159

9 Davidson's Semantics for Natural Language 165

9.1 Background 165

9.2 The Merits of Tatski's Theory as Applied to Meaning 168

9.3 Applying Tarski's Theory to Natural Languages 175

9.4 Empirical Truth Theory 181

9.5 Criticisms of Davidson's Theory 185

10 Grice's Theory of Speaker Meaning 191

10.1 Background: Speakers and Sentences 191

10.2 Two Types of Meaning 193

10.3 What Is Speaker Meaning? 195

10.4 Consequences and Criticisms 199

Appendix: Kripke's Puzzle about Belief 203

Notes 211

Index 215

What People are Saying About This

Stephen Schiffer

McGinn has an enviable knack for explaining difficult texts in ways that don't dumb them down but yet are strikingly intuitive and accessible, ways one wished one had thought of oneself. Even a professional philosopher who has been teaching and working in the philosophy of language for years will find more than a little illumination in this compact but commendably thorough book.

Endorsement

McGinn has an enviable knack for explaining difficult texts in ways that don't dumb them down but yet are strikingly intuitive and accessible, ways one wished one had thought of oneself. Even a professional philosopher who has been teaching and working in the philosophy of language for years will find more than a little illumination in this compact but commendably thorough book.

—Stephen Schiffer, Silver Professor of Philosophy, New York University

From the Publisher

The philosophy of language is an intimidating field, even to people who know a lot about language: filled with abstruse distinctions and traps for misunderstanding. Colin McGinn is a lucid and sure-footed guide through this murky terrain, and this is the book that many of us have been waiting for.

—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Language Instinct and The Sense of Style

McGinn has an enviable knack for explaining difficult texts in ways that don't dumb them down but yet are strikingly intuitive and accessible, ways one wished one had thought of oneself. Even a professional philosopher who has been teaching and working in the philosophy of language for years will find more than a little illumination in this compact but commendably thorough book.

—Stephen Schiffer, Silver Professor of Philosophy, New York University

Steven Pinker

The philosophy of language is an intimidating field, even to people who know a lot about language: filled with abstruse distinctions and traps for misunderstanding. Colin McGinn is a lucid and sure-footed guide through this murky terrain, and this is the book that many of us have been waiting for.