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OverviewJohn Hawthorne and David Manley present an original treatment of the semantic phenomenon of reference and the cognitive phenomenon of singular thought. In Part I, they argue against the idea that either is tied to a special relation of causal or epistemic acquaintance. Part II challenges the alleged semantic rift between definite and indefinite descriptions on the one hand, and names and demonstratives on the other--a division that has been motivated in part by appeals to considerations of acquaintance. Drawing on recent work in linguistics and philosophical semantics, Hawthorne and Manley explore a more unified account of all four types of expression according to which none of them paradigmatically fits the profile of a referential term. On the preferred framework put forward in The Reference Book, all four types of expression involve existential quantification but admit of uses that exhibit many of the traits associated with reference--a phenomenon that is due to the presence of what Hawthorne and Manley call a 'singular restriction' on the existentially quantified domain. The book concludes by drawing out some implications of the proposed semantic picture for the traditional categories of reference and singular thought. Full Product DetailsAuthor: John Hawthorne (Magdalen College, Oxford) , David Manley (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)Publisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.70cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.394kg ISBN: 9780198703044ISBN 10: 019870304 Pages: 280 Publication Date: 13 March 2014 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order  Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsPart I: Against acquaintance 1: Introduction: reference and singular thought 2: A defense of liberalism 3: Epistemic acquaintance Part II: Beyond acquaintance 4: From the specific to the singular 5: What 'the'? 6: Whither reference? Afterword Bibliography IndexReviews'John Hawthorne and David Manley have two main objectives in this excellent book. The first is to demolish the common assumption, following Bertrand Russell, that some kind of acquaintance is required for both (singular) reference and singular thought. The second is to establish a semantic uniformity among four kinds of noun phrases - specific indefinite descriptions, definite descriptions, demonstratives, and proper names ... a wonderful book. The authors' writing style is lively ... readable, and clear, and their very careful consideration of all sides of every issue should leave readers with a whole new appreciation of the complexity of those issues, and a sense that many of their automatic assumptions about the functioning of noun phrases in English (and most likely other languages as well) need to be revised.' Barbara Abbott, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews `'John Hawthorne and David Manley have two main objectives in this excellent book. The first is to demolish the common assumption, following Bertrand Russell, that some kind of acquaintance is required for both (singular) reference and singular thought. The second is to establish a semantic uniformity among four kinds of noun phrases - specific indefinite descriptions, definite descriptions, demonstratives, and proper names ... a wonderful book. The authors' writing style is lively . . . readable, and clear, and their very careful consideration of all sides of every issue should leave readers with a whole new appreciation of the complexity of those issues, and a sense that many of their automatic assumptions about the functioning of noun phrases in English (and most likely other languages as well) need to be revised.'' Barbara Abbott, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Author InformationJohn Hawthorne is Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford, having previously been Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. His books include Knowledge and Lotteries, Metaphysical Essays, and Relativism and Monadic Truth. David Manley is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His papers have appeared in such journals as Mind, The Journal of Philosophy, Noûs, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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