1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910959644603321

Autore

Stenlund Sòˆren

Titolo

Language and philosophical problems / / Soren Stenlund

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York, : Routledge, 2003

ISBN

1-134-95224-4

1-134-95225-2

1-280-32208-X

0-585-44730-6

0-203-40699-0

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (240 p.)

Disciplina

121.68

121/.68

Soggetti

Language and languages - Philosophy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

LANGUAGE AND PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS; Copyright; Contents; Preface; 1 Language, Mind, and Machines; 1 Introduction; 2 The notion of natural language; 3 Conceptual investigation; 4 Language as a 'universal medium'; 5 Linguistic communication and solipsism; 6 The mental and the physical; 7 The idea of artificial intelligence; 8 Machine behaviour and human action; 9 Turing's test; 10 Calculation versus mechanical symbol manipulation; 11 Deceptive criticism of AI; 12 Different senses of 'action'; 13 Logical rules and conditions; 2 Notions of Language and Theories of Meaning

1 A priori theories of meaning versus naturalistic theories of language2 Theory of meaning versus conceptual investigation; 3 Confusion of the perspectives of linguistics and philosophy; 4 Some philosophical prejudices; 5 Languages with 'specified structure'; 6 Form and content of sentences; 7 The notion of literal meaning; 8 Indeterminacy of the form of expressions; 9 Idealization in science and philosophy; 10 Sentences of a language versus formulas of a calculus; 11 Language-learning and rule-following; 12 The dispute over realism in mathematics; 3 Form and Content in Mathematics

1 Word-language and mathematical content2 The transfinite as an



idealization; 3 Mathematical reality; 4 Potential infinity; 5 The finite and the infinite; 6 Form, function, and generality; 7 Mathematical induction; 8 Numbers and numerals; 9 Languages and formal systems; 10 Computability and decidability; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Language and Philosophical Problems investigates problems about mind, meaning and mathematics rooted in preconceptions of language. It deals in particular with problems which are connected with our tendency to be misled by certain prevailing views and preconceptions about language. Philosophical claims made by theorists of meaning are scrutinized and shown to be connected with common views about the nature of certain mathematical notions and methods. Drawing in particular on Wittgenstein's ideas, Sren Stenlund demonstrates a strategy for tracing out and resolving conceptual and philosophical p