The
enigma of the Emergence of Natural Languages, coupled or not with the closely
related problem of their Evolution is perceived today as one of the most
important scientific problems. The purpose of the present study is actually to
outline such a solution to our problem which is epistemologically consonant
with the Big Bang solution of the problem of the Emergence of the Universe}. Such
an outline, however, becomes articulable, understandable, and workable only in
a drastically extended epistemic and scientific oecumene, where known and
habitual approaches to the problem, both theoretical and experimental, become
distant, isolated, even if to some degree still hospitable conceptual and
methodological islands. The guiding light of our inquiry will be Eugene Paul
Wigner's metaphor of ``the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in natural
sciences'', i.e., the steadily evolving before our eyes, since at least XVIIth
century, ``the miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics
for the formulation of the laws of physics''.
This text illustrates how the philosophy of Language, if differently conceived, can directly incorporate questions of political thought and of emotionality, and offers the practical case of defensive strategies against abusive speech. This follows a broad consideration of the inner voice or inner speech as a test case for a new approach to language, in particular as a way of radically rethinking the usual contrast between inner and outer through furnishing an account of how we internalize speech. The book's core offers a substantial critique of orthodox approaches to the philosophy of language from Chomsky and others; drawing on European political thought from Marx to Deleuze, it will move beyond this inheritance to explain and demonstrate its fresh conception of language at work.
How do you write a good qualitative dissertation? This book offers advice about and examples of the primary tasks and hidden complications in writing a qualitative dissertation. The long process of bringing a dissertation to completion involves making many choices-substantive, organizational, and interpersonal. This guidebook takes you through the process-from the first formulation of the topic and selection of a committee to development of an argument and, finally, preparation for the defense.
Dialogue as a Means of Collective Communication offers a cross-disciplinary approach to examining dialogue as a communicative medium. Presented in five parts, the book takes the reader on a journey of exploring the power and potential of dialogue as a means for communication. In particular, this volume comes at a time when the global society's attention has been directed to creating more productive conversations in the name of world peace and harmony. It provides a unique new work on dialogue that brings the reader into a "dialogue with dialogue", offering an opportunity to understand the communicative potential of dialogue.
In the book, readers are introduced to five sections: Section I examines the historical and cultural perspectives of conversation. This examination helps to create a foundation for a deeper study of the emergent and salient aspects of conversation as it relates to cultural creativity and human systems design. Sections II offers the reader an examination of dialogue through different philosophical and theoretical perspectives as well as methodological ideas related to conversation. Section III explores different modalities of conversation and the application of design conversation within and across various types of design settings and human experiences. Section IV examines the field of practice as related to use of different forms of conversation. Here various authors will share their different approaches to conversation and their reflections and insights in using conversation in a variety of settings. Concluding the book, Section V reflectively examines the authors' contributions to the book and provides the reader with a focus on the future.
Objects of Metaphor puts forward a philosophical account of metaphor radically different from those currently on offer. Powerful and flexible enough to cope with the syntactic complexity typical of genuine metaphor, it offers novel conceptions of the relationship between simile and metaphor, the notion of dead metaphor, and the idea of metaphor as a robust theoretic kind. Without denying that metaphor can sometimes be merely ornamental, Guttenplan justifies the view of metaphor as fundamental to language and the study of language. His book will be of great interest not only to philosophers in this field, but also to those working across psychology and linguistics.
