Language, Science, and Structure: A Journey into the Philosophy of Linguistics

What is a language? What do scientific grammars tell us about the structure of individual languages and human language in general? What kind of science is linguistics? These and other questions are the subject of Ryan M. Nefdt's Language, Science, and Structure.

Linguistics presents a unique and challenging subject matter for the philosophy of science. As a special science, its formalisation and naturalisation inspired what many consider to be a scientific revolution in the study of mind and language. Yet radical internal theory change, multiple competing frameworks, and issues of modelling and realism have largely gone unaddressed in the field. Nefdt develops a structural realist perspective on the philosophy of linguistics which aims to confront the aforementioned topics in new ways while expanding the outlook toward new scientific connections and novel philosophical insights. On this view, languages are real patterns which emerge from complex biological systems. Nefdt's exploration of this novel view will be especially valuable to those working in formal and computational linguistics, cognitive science, and the philosophies of science, mathematics, and language.

Ryan M. Nefdt is a philosopher of science who works on issues in linguistics, cognitive science, and AI at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews, an MSc in Logic from the University of Amsterdam and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Cape Town. He has held research positions at various institutions such as MIT, Pittsburgh, Edinburgh, Minnesota, Yale, and Michigan and is published in numerous journals including Linguistics & Philosophy, Mind & Language, Biology & Philosophy, Synthese, Philosophy Compass, and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.