Why Does Language Matter to Philosophy?

Hacking, Ian

ISBN 10: 0521099986 / ISBN 13: 9780521099981

Published by Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1975

About this Item

Some edge wear to card covers; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition.

Seller Inventory # 008372

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Why Does Language Matter to Philosophy?
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 1975
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521099986
• ISBN 13: 9780521099981
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: American First.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket as Issued
• Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis

Many people find themselves dissatisfied with recent linguistic philosophy, and yet know that language has always mattered deeply to philosophy and must in some sense continue to do so. Ian Hacking considers here some dozen case studies in the history of philosophy to show the different ways in which language has been important, and the consequences for the development of the subject. There are chapters on, among others, Hobbes, Berkeley, Russell, Ayer, Wittgenstein, Chomsky, Feyerabend and Davidson. Dr Hacking ends by speculating about the directions in which philosophy and the study of language seem likely to go. The book will provide students with a stimulating, broad survey of problems in the theory of meaning and the development of philosophy, particularly in this century. The topics treated in the philosophy of language are among the central, current concerns of philosophers, and the historical framework makes it possible to introduce concretely and intelligibly all the main theoretical issues.

About the Author

Ian Hacking is a retired professor of College de France, Chair of Philosophy and History of Scientific Concepts, and retired University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His most recent books include The Social Construction of What? (1999), An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic (Cambridge University Press, 2001), The Emergence of Probability (Cambridge University Press, 2006), Scientific Reason (2009) and Exercises in Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2009).