Language and Reality from a Naturalistic Perspective -

Language and Reality from a Naturalistic Perspective

Themes from Michael Devitt

Andrea Bianchi (Herausgeber)

Buch | Hardcover
XI, 466 Seiten
2020 | 1st ed. 2020
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-47640-3 (ISBN)
171,19 inkl. MwSt

This book celebrates the many important contributions to philosophy by one of the leading philosophers in the analytic field, Michael Devitt.

It collects seventeen original essays by renowned philosophers from all over the world. They all develop themes from Devitt's work, thus discussing many fundamental issues in philosophy of linguistics, theory of reference, theory of meaning, methodology, and metaphysics.

In a long final chapter, Devitt himself replies to the contributors. In so doing, he further elaborates his views on various of these issues, for example defending his claim (in opposition to Chomskyan orthodoxy) that languages are external rather than internal; his well-known causal theory of reference; his "shocking" idea that meanings can be causal, non-descriptive, modes of presentation; his methodological naturalism; his commitment to scientific realism; and his version of biological essentialism.

The volume will appeal to all scholars and students interested in contemporary theoretical analytic philosophy, and will be a must-read for any serious researcher in philosophy of language. It provides a deep insight into the work of one of the most important living philosophers, and will help readers to better understand language and reality from a naturalistic perspective.

Andrea Bianchi is an associate professor of philosophy of language at the University of Parma. He has published various articles on reference and related topics, and edited On Reference (Oxford University Press 2015).

Chapter 1. Introduction - Michael Devitt at Eighty (Andrea Bianchi).- Part I: Philosophy of linguistics.- Chapter 2. Invariance as the mark of the psychological reality of language (John Collins).- Chaprer 3. Priorities and diversities in language and thought (Elisabeth Camp).- Part II: Theory of reference.- Chapter 4. Theories of reference: What was the question? (Panu Raatikainen).- Chapter 5. Multiple grounding (François Recanati).- Chapter 6. Reference and causal chains (Andrea Bianchi).- Chapter 7. The qua-problem for names (dismissed) (Marga Reimer).- Chapter 8. Language from a naturalistic perspective (Frank Jackson). Chapter 9. Michael Devitt, cultural evolution and the division of linguistic labour (Kim Sterelny).- Part III: Theory of meaning.- Chapter 10. Still for direct reference (David Braun).- Chapter 11. Naming and non-necessity (Nathan Salmon).- Chapter 12. Against rigidity for general terms (Stephen P. Schwartz).- Chapter 13. Devitt and the case for narrow meaning(William G. Lycan).- Chapter 14. Languages and idiolects (Paul Horwich).- Part IV: Methodology.- Chapter 15. Explanation first! The priority of scientific over "commonsense" metaphysics (Georges Rey).- Chapter 16. Experimental semantics, descriptivism and anti-descriptivism. Should we endorse referential pluralism? (Genoveva Martí).- Part V: Metaphysics.- Chapter 17. Scientific realism and epistemic optimism (Peter Godfrey-Smith).- Chapter 18. Species have historical not intrinsic essences (Marion Godman and David Papineau).- Part VI: Michael Devitt's Responses.- Chapter 19. Stirring the possum: Responses to the Bianchi papers (Michael Devitt).



Erscheinungsdatum
Reihe/Serie Philosophical Studies Series
Zusatzinfo XI, 466 p. 5 illus., 4 illus. in color.
Verlagsort Cham
Sprache englisch
Maße 155 x 235 mm
Gewicht 922 g
Themenwelt Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie der Neuzeit
Schlagworte Apriority • biological essentialism • Causal Theory of Reference • Descriptivism • Devitt on Reference • Direct Reference • General Terms • meanings • Michael Devitt • Narrow Content • Philosophical Naturalism • Proper names • Qua Problem • Realism and Truth • Reference • Referential Chains • rigidity • scientific realism • theories of reference • Thought and Language
ISBN-10 3-030-47640-5 / 3030476405
ISBN-13 978-3-030-47640-3 / 9783030476403
Zustand Neuware
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