Overview

No word in English is shorter than the word ``I.'' And yet no word is more important in philosophy. When Descartes said ``I think therefore I am'' he produced something that was both about himself and a universal formula. The word ``I'' is called an ``indexical'' because its meaning always depends on who says it. Other examples of indexicals are ``you,'' ``here,'' ``this'' and ``now.'' John Perry discusses how these kinds of words work, and why they express important philosophical thoughts. He shows that indexicals pose a challenge to traditional assumptions about language and thought. Over the years a number of these papers, now included in this book, have sparked lively debates and have been influential in philosophy, linguistics and other areas of cognitive science. With seven new papers, including the previously unpublished ``What Are Indexicals?,'' the present volume expands on an earlier version of this book published in the early nineties. Also included are the well-known papers ``Frege on Demonstratives,'' ``Cognitive Significance and New Theories of Reference,'' ``Evading the Slingshot,'' ``The Prince and the Phone booth'' (coauthored with Mark Crimmins), ``Fodor on Psychological Explanations'' (coauthored with David Israel), and related papers on situation semantics, direct reference, and the structure of belief. This book also includes afterwords written by the author that discuss responses to his work by Gareth Evans, Robert Stalnaker, Barbara Partee, Howard Wettstein and others.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Perry
Publisher:   Centre for the Study of Language & Information
Imprint:   Centre for the Study of Language & Information
Edition:   2nd edition
Dimensions:   Width: 1.60cm , Height: 0.20cm , Length: 2.30cm
Weight:   0.567kg
ISBN:  

9781575862699

ISBN 10:   1575862697
Pages:   428
Publication Date:   01 June 2000
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Indexicals, contexts and unarticulated constituents; Reality without reference; Evading the slingshot; Broadening the mind; Myself and I; Reflexivity, indexicality and names; Rip Van Winkle and other characters; Frege on demonstratives; The problem of the essential indexical; Belief and acceptance; A problem about continued belief; Castandeda on he and I; Perception, action, and the structure of believing; From worlds to situations; Possible worlds to situations; Circumstantial attitudes and benevolent cognition; Thought without representation; Cognitive significance and new theories of reference; The prince and the phone booth; Individuals in Informational and Intentional content; Fodor and psychological explanations.

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Author Information

Recipient of numerous international academic awards, John Perry is the Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University, where he has chaired the Philosophy Department and directed the Center for the Study of Language and Information, which he helped found. He is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing.

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