Language, Thought, and Logic (Rethinking Theory) - Hardcover

Ellis, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810110954 ISBN 13: 9780810110953

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 1993

Synopsis

John M. Ellis's Against Deconstruction was hailed as the definitive critique of that complex movement. Now in Language, Thought, and Logic, Ellis surmounts the impasses and confusion in theory of language to develop a new and strikingly original view. Ellis argues that categorization, not syntax, is the most fundamental aspect and process of language and that neither anything else in language nor, indeed, its purposes can be properly understood until the nature of categorization has been grasped. In the same spirit, he analyzes the notion of grammar and the place of language in human thought.

Powerful, rigorous, and innovative, Language, Thought, and Logic makes an important contribution to the understanding of contemporary linguistics.

About this title

About the Author

John M. Ellis is professor of German Literature at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is the author of eight bokos, including Against Deconstruction, One Fairy-Story Too Many: The Brothers Grimm and Their Tales, and The Theory of Literary Criticism: A Logical Analysis. 

Reviews

Using theories by Peirce, Saussure, Wittgenstein, and Whorf, Ellis explains the philosophy of language and shows where he believes previous thinkers have gone wrong. He gives some idea of the future of linguistics and what he sees as directions for possible work in the field. For Ellis (German, Univ. of California at Santa Cruz), the concept of categorization is the most important aspect of the study of language. He criticizes Chomsky, Piaget, and Ayer for not understanding the basic nature of thought. Ellis's critique of the MIT school of linguistics is especially rigorous. He also discusses the relationship of factual statements and value judgments in questions of ethics and value aesthetics and touches upon grammar and epistemological questions. If this book is any indication of what the new series, "Rethinking Theory," will produce in the future, every volume will be eagerly awaited. Recommended for large philosophy and linguistics collections.
- Gene Shaw, NYPL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810110954
• ISBN 13: 9780810110953
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 163