The Philosophy of Language

What is meaning? What is the relationship between language and the world? How is linguistic communication possible? This comprehensive anthology contains thirty-seven of the most important articles in the philosophy of language, including both classic articles by such philosophers as Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, J.L. Austin, W.V. Quine, and P.F. Strawson and recent work by Saul Kripke, David Kaplan, Donald Davidson, David Lewis, John Searle, and Noam Chomsky. The Second Edition includes six new selections by Russell, Searle, H.P. Grice, Robert Stalnaker, Hilary Putnam, and Chomsky.

Clearly structured in a way that both students and teachers will find appealing, the new edition is divided into seven sections that cover all of the central issues in the philosophy of language: Truth and Meaning, Speech Acts, Reference and Descriptions, Names and Demonstratives, Propositional Attitudes, Metaphor, and The Nature of Language. The articles included represent a range of different approaches to the philosophy of language and many build upon or discuss previous articles. Expanded introductions to each section provide the background necessary for understanding the philosophical issues and the connections between the articles. A bibliography of suggested further reading is included at the end of each section. Reorganized and consolidated for easier accessibility, and with new material throughout, The Philosophy of Language, Second Edition, is an essential text for courses in the philosophy of language, linguistic studies, semantics, and rhetoric.