TTC - Philosophy as a Guide to Living (24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture) Course No. 4244
Taught by Stephen A. Erickson Pomona College Ph.D., Yale University
Is there meaning in human life?
All of us have asked ourselves this question. But for philosophers through the ages, it was the first question of many, for they needed to know whether such a question was even answerable by philosophy. And if it was, they needed to ask whether any positive answer could be pursued through the practice of philosophy itself.
Today, these questions remain as timely and controversial as ever.
This volume, Grice's first hook, includes the long-delayed publication of his enormously influential 1967 William James Lectures. But there is much, much more in this work. Paul Grice himself has carefully arranged and framed the sequence of essays to emphasize not a certain set of ideas but a habit of mind, a style of philosophizing.
Grice has, to be sure, provided philosophy with crucial ideas. His account of speaker-meaning is the standard that others use to define their own minor divergences or future elaborations.
'Philosophy for Linguists: An Introduction' is an informative, easy-to-read introduction to linguistics within the sphere of philosophy. From Plato, through Frege and Russell, past Tarski and Davidson, addressing Austin, Ryle and Grice as well as taking time out to consider Whorf, Sapir, Saussure and Chomsky (amongst many others), Siobhan Chapman's book is a deceptive gem for the philosophy of language student or "interested reader" in the subject. It's deceptive because it's a sweet, modest but, above all, informative book (not quite what one would expect from a "philosophy of language" book) and manages to condense potentially hundreds of pages into a short, persuasive read. Unlike other publications, the information provided seeks not to elevate itself above its reader (thus confusing and confounding him or her with multi-syllable words only a lexicographer would be familiar with) but instead revels in being the reader's companion, explaining numerous concepts and ideas within five clearly-defined chapters (Words and things, Propositions and logic, Truth and reality, Speakers and hearers, Language and mind). The style and presentation of each of the chapters is non-threatening and easily accessible and even the involvement of arguably irrelevant and unrelated data, in the form of biographical information (for example did you know that Wittgenstein spent part of his time as a teacher and gardener?) is a welcome addition.
Added by: Maria | Karma: 3098.81 | Non-Fiction | 23 July 2008
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From Writing to Computers takes as its central theme the issue of a unifying intellectual principle to connect books and computers. Julian Warner uses an approach based on semiotics, but also draws on linguistics, information science, cognitive science, philosophy and automata studies. Covering a range of topics--from the relations between speech and writing, to transitions from orality to literacy and claims for a transition to an information society--the author aims throughout to render complex ideas intelligible without loss of rigor. This text addresses ordinary readers who, as social beings and members of political communities, are affected by significant developments in methods for storing, manipulating and communicating information. It is also intended for students of the disciplines on which the draws: semiotics, information studies, linguistics, computer science, philosophy and psychology.
The contributions of Kantian thought to modern mathematics, mathematical logic, and the foundations of mathematics are now widely acknowledged by scholars. As the essays in this volume show, the general development of modern scientific thought--including the physical sciences, the life sciences, and mathematics--can be viewed as an evolution from Kant through Poincaré to Einstein and the logical positivists and beyond. Focusing on nineteenth-century science, the essays--by historians of philosophy, science, and mathematics--trace the multiple intellectual transformations that have led from Kant's original scientific situation to the scientific problems of the twentieth century.
