For a physicist, all the world is information. The universe and its workings are the ebb and flow of information. We are all transient patterns of information, passing on the recipe for our basic forms to future generations using a four-letter digital code called DNA. In this engaging and mind-stretching account, Vlatko Vedral considers some of the deepest questions about the universe and considers the implications of interpreting it in terms of information. He explains the nature of information, the idea of entropy, and the roots of this thinking in thermodynamics.
Kant and TheologyThis title presents an introduction to the influence of Kant's though on theology and the response from theology. The philosophy of Kant is widely acknowledged to have had a major impact on theology.
A Theory of Syntax: Minimal Operations and Universal Grammar
Human language seems to have arisen roughly within the last 50-100,000 years. In evolutionary terms, this is the mere blink of an eye. If this is correct, then much of what we consider distinctive to language must in fact involve operations available in pre-linguistic cognitive domains. In this book Norbert Hornstein, one of the most influential linguists working on syntax, discusses a topical set of issues in syntactic theory, including a number of original proposals at the cutting edge of research in this area.
Metaphorical and metonymical compounds – novel and lexicalised ones alike – are remarkably abundant in language. Yet how can we be sure that when using an expression such as land fishing in order to speak about metal detecting, the referent will be immediately understood even if the hearer had not been previously familiar with the compound? Accordingly, this book sets out to explore whether the semantics of metaphorical and metonymical noun–noun combinations can be systematically analysed within a theoretical framework...
American Writers, Volume 2The American Writers book series, a collection of critical and biographical articles, now covers 219 notable authors from the 17th century to the present day. Signed essays of 12-15 pages in length, by noted scholars, provide thought-provoking insights into the lives, careers, and works. The essays are written in an appealing style, include numerous quotations, and conclude with bibliographies for further study.
VOLUME II: Ralph Waldo Emerson to Carson McCullers
