The Science of Meaning: Essays on the Metatheory of Natural Language Semantics

Derek Ball

ISBN 10: 0198739540 / ISBN 13: 9780198739548

Published by Oxford University Press, 2018

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Science of Meaning: Essays on the Metatheory of Natural Language Semantics
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198739540
• ISBN 13: 9780198739548
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 834 grams

About this title

Synopsis

By creating certain marks on paper, or by making certain sounds-breathing past a moving tongue-or by articulation of hands and bodies, language users can give expression to their mental lives. With language we command, assert, query, emote, insult, and inspire. Language has meaning. This fact can be quite mystifying, yet a science of linguistic meaning-semantics-has emerged at the intersection of a variety of disciplines: philosophy, linguistics, computer science, and psychology. Semantics is the study of meaning. But what exactly is "meaning"? What is the exact target of semantic theory? Much of the early work in natural language semantics was accompanied by extensive reflection on the aims of semantic theory, and the form a theory must take to meet those aims. But this meta-theoretical reflection has not kept pace with recent theoretical innovations. This volume re-addresses these questions concerning the foundations of natural language semantics in light of the current state-of-the-art in semantic theorising.

About the Author

Derek Ball is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of St Andrews. His professional interests include the philosophy of language and philosophy of mind.

Brian Rabern is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. His main research interests centre around philosophy of language, logic, and formal semantics.