Meaning

Meaning brings together some of the most significant philosophical work on linguistic representation and understanding, presenting canonical essays on core questions in the philosophy of language.

This anthology includes classic articles by key figures such as Frege, Quine, Putnam, Kripke, and Davidson; and recent reactions to this work by philosophers including Mark Wilson, Scott Soames, James Higginbotham, and Frank Jackson. Topics discussed include analyticity; translational indeterminacy; theories of reference; meaning as use; the nature of linguistic competence; truth and meaning; and relations between semantics and metaphysics. An extensive introduction gives an overview and detailed critical evaluation of the seminal views and arguments represented in the anthology. Meaning is an ideal text for courses in philosophy of language and semantics.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Conceptions of Meaning (Mark Richard).

1. ′On Sense and Reference′ (Gottlob Frege).

2. From Naming and Necessity (Saul Kripke).

3. ′Meaning and Reference′ (Hilary Putnam).

4. ′Predicate Meets Property′ (Mark Wilson).

5. From Meaning (Paul Horwich).

6. From ′Ontological Relativity′ (W. V. O. Quine).

7. From ′The Indeterminancy of Translation and the Inscrutability of Reference′ (Scott Soames).

8. ′Individuation, Causal Relations, and Quine′ (Jody Azzouni).

9. ′Radical Interpretation′ (Donald Davidson).

10. ′Semantics and Semantic Competence′ (Scott Soames).

11. ′Truth and Understanding′ (James Higginbotham).

12. From ′Indexicals and Demonstratives′ (John Perry).

13. Two Dogmas of Empiricism (W.V.O. Quine).

14. Armchair Metaphysics. Mind, Method, & Conditionals (Frank Jackson).

Index.

Mark Richard is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Tufts University. He is the author of Propositional Attitudes (1990) and numerous articles. He is also an editor for the journal Linguistics and Philosophy.

"This book covers a wide range of core topics in philosophy of language and strikes a nice balance between classic papers and more recent work. The collection will form the basis for an excellent course on philosophy of language."
–– Stephen Laurence, University of Sheffield

"Meaning takes the reader through many of the most crucial developments in the study of meaning from Frege through to the present day; this book will certainly prove an invaluable resource for both students and professionals."
––Emma Borg, University of Reading

"This is an excellent collection on meaning, blending classics with insightful recent contributions."
––Michael Devitt, City University of New York