Natural language and possible minds : how language uncovers the cognitive landscape of nature /
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In Natural Language and Possible Minds: How Language Uncovers the Cognitive Landscape of Nature Prakash Mondal attempts to demonstrate that language can reveal the hidden logical texture of diverse types of mentality in non-humans, contrary to popular belief. The widely held assumption in mainstream cognitive science is that language being humanly unique introduces an anthropomorphic bias in investigations into the nature of other possible minds. This book turns this around by formulating a lattice of mental structures distilled from linguistic structures constituting the cognitive building blocks of an ensemble of biological entities/beings. This turns out to have surprising consequences for machine cognition as well. Challenging mainstream views, this book will appeal to cognitive scientists, philosophers of mind, linguists and also cognitive ethologists.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004344204 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The reshaped min d Searle, the biblical writers, and Christ's blood /
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A number of biblical scholars and theologians have had interest in speech act theory ever since J.L. Austin (1911-1960) outlined how a speaker can perform actions with words. John R. Searle has made a significant contribution to speech act theory after Austin by rooting his philosophy of language in the philosophy of mind; however, Searle's categories remain largely under or misrepresented in theological circles. In this book, the author works exclusively with Searle's categories to examine five NT texts on the 'blood-of-Christ' motif (Rom 3:25; Heb 9:12; John 6:52-59; Rev 1:5b-6; Rev 7:13-14). The main result is a broader understanding of Christ's blood in a literal sense rather than simply as a metaphor for his death.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [199]-213) and indexes. :
9789004188945 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Reality and Culture : Essays on the Philosophy of Bernard Harrison.
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More than being a volume about the philosophy of Bernard Harrison, this volume is about how Harrison conceptualizes the creation of the human world. One might be tempted to classify Harrison as a major voice in many diverse discussions-philosophy of literature, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, color studies, epistemology, metaphysics, moral philosophy, philosophy of culture, Wittgenstein, antisemitism, and more-without recognizing a unifying strand that ties them together. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Harrison contests and destabilizes a persistent and misleading alignment of culture with subjectivity-whether found in unexamined distinctions between nature and culture or appearance and reality. His general aim has been to undermine the belief that human culture deals in smoke and mirrors, and that the only realities are those of extra-human nature. He emphasizes the paraxial foundation of meaning, and argues that the creative inventions of language and culture are as real as any extra-linguistic reality. While granting the existence of extra-human reality, he holds it to be, in itself, conceptually unorganised, but nevertheless cognitively accessible by way of sense-perception and physical manipulation. This volume offers new critical essays that examine Harrison's corpus, written by distinguished voices in philosophy and literary studies. It bridges many of the abysses of conflicting opinion opened by the culture wars of the past half-century. Importantly, it includes an opening essay by Harrison that elucidates the unifying strand running through his variegated philosophical writings, and concludes with a chapter in which he replies to and reflects on the other critical essays herein.
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1 online resource (294 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789401210669 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ideas on language in early Latin Christianity from Tertullian to Isidore of Seville /
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In Ideas on Language in Early Latin Christianity , Tim Denecker investigates, in a comprehensive and systematic way, the views held on the history, diversity and properties of language(s) by Christian Latin authors from Tertullian (b. c.160) to Isidore of Seville (d. 636). This historical period witnessed various sociocultural changes, affecting linguistic situations and the ways in which these were perceived. Christian intellectuals were confronted with languages other than Latin in the context of the propagation of faith, and in reflecting on language were bound to comply with the relevant biblical accounts. Whereas previous research has mostly focused on the (indeed vital) contribution of Augustine, the present study reveals the diversified and dynamic nature of linguistic reflection in early Latin Christianity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004276659 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The language environment of first century Judaea /
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The articles in this collection demonstrate that a change is taking place in New Testament studies. Throughout the twentieth century, New Testament scholarship primarily worked under the assumption that only two languages, Aramaic and Greek, were in common use in the land of Israel in the first century. The current contributors investigate various areas where increasing linguistic data and changing perspectives have moved Hebrew out of a restricted, marginal status within first-century language use and the impact on New Testament studies. Five articles relate to the general sociolinguistic situation in the land of Israel during the first century, while three articles present literary studies that interact with the language background. The final three contributions demonstrate the impact this new understanding has on the reading of Gospel texts.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004264410
Aristotle : semantics and ontology.
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This study intends to show that the ascription of many shortcomings or obscurities to Aristotle is due to the persistent misinterpetation of key notions in his works, including anachronistic perceptions of statement making. In the first volume Aristotle's semantics is culled from the Organon. The second volume presents Aristotle's ontology of the sublunar world, and pays special attention to his strategy of argument in light of his semantic views. The reconstruction of the semantic models that come forward as genuinely Aristotelian can give a new impetus to the study of Aristotelian philosophic and semantic thought.
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1 online resource (xi, 498 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004321151 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Proclus' Commentary on the Cratylus in context : ancient theories of language and naming /
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The Cratylus contains Plato's important, yet ambiguous discussion of language. By studying the reception of this text in antiquity, this book explores the various ideas on language and its relation to philosophy in the Platonic tradition. This discussion provides the backdrop for a detailed analysis of the commentary on the dialogue by Proclus. His, often original, views on language are, it appears, the product of a critical reevaluation of those of his predecessors, whereas his interpretation of the Cratylus throws new light on that dialogue. This book will thus be of interest both to students of Plato and the Platonic tradition, as well as to those working on ancient theories of language.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [219]-228) and indexes. :
9789047423720 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Plato's Cratylus : Proceedings from the Eleventh Symposium Platonicum Pragense /
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The present volume offers a collection of papers on one of Plato's most intriguing dialogues. Although not a running commentary, the book covers the majority of difficult questions raised by the dialogue in which the subjects of language and ontology are tied closely together. It shows why Plato's Cratylus has been highly regarded among readers interested in ancient philosophy and those concerned with modern semantics and theory of language. This collection also presents original views on the position of the dialogue in the whole Plato's œuvre and in the context of Plato's contemporaries and successors.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004473027
9789004473010
Boethius on mind, grammar, and logic : a study of Boethius' Commentaries on Peri hermeneias /
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Boethius (c.480-c.525/6), who is best known for his Consolation of Philosophy , has been accused of misinterpreting Aristotle's logical works in his translations and commentaries thereof. Building on recent scholarship in the philosophy of late antiquity, this book challenges some of the past interpretations of Boethius and reveals significant features of his semantics and logic. With comparisons between his and contemporary arguments and attention to the terminology of late antiquity, this work is of use to those interested in semantics, logic and grammar from antiquity to the modern day. Furthermore, this book's new conclusions aim to reinvigorate interest in this much-maligned and poorly understood philosopher.
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Revised and expanded version of the author's thesis (Ph. D.--Saint Louis University, 2008), originally presented under the title: Boethius on language, mind, and reality. :
1 online resource (xiii, 296 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (; [237]-267) and index. :
9789004216044 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Cratylus : Plato's critique of naming /
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The Cratylus has puzzled many readers with its lengthy discussion of the 'true meanings' of more than a hundred Greek names. This book aims to give a coherent interpretation of the whole dialogue, paying particular attention to these etymologies. The book discusses the rival theories of naming offered by Cratylus, Hermogenes, and Socrates, arguing that Socrates presents a prescriptive theory, laying down what names should be, rather than describing what they are. This distinction between prescriptive and descriptive theories is elaborated and used to illuminate the etymologies themselves. After discussing possible sources for the etymologies, the author argues that the etymological section amounts to a Platonic critique of the muddled attitude of Greek poets and thinkers towards names.
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1 online resource (viii, 203 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-193) and indexes. :
9789004320796 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Lexique platonicien /
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Ce volume s'occupe du Lexique platonicien de Timée le Sophiste, auteur qui a appartenu à la deuxième sophistique. Une introduction de Jonathan Barnes présente l'histoire des manuscrits de ce lexique et de ses éditions, ainsi qu'une analyse de sa structure et une évaluation de son importance pour la lexicographie ancienne et pour les études platoniciennes. La première partie du livre présente une nouvelle édition du texte avec une traduction française et quatre apparats, des scolies du manuscrit, des loci platonici , des loci similes , et l'apparat critique. La deuxième partie du livre présente un commentaire fourni, qui considère la relation du lexique avec les lexiques atticistes et byzantins, les scolies et les commentaires platoniciens, ainsi que les textes philosophiques. This book is an edition of the Lexicon to Plato written by Timaeus the Sophist. An Introduction by Jonathan Barnes discusses the history of the manuscripts and editions of the Lexicon , analyses the structure and nature of the work, sites it in the history of ancient lexicography, and attempts to assess its virtues and its importance. The first part of the book contains a new edition of the Greek text, faced by a French translation and equipped with four apparatuses. The second part of the book is the commentary: it is primarily concerned to connect the entries of the Lexicon to appropriate passages in Plato, to trace the links between Timaeus and the ancient tradition of Platonic scholarship, and to locate the Lexicon in thevoluminous and complex history of ancient lexicography.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [633]-641) and indexes. :
9789047421207 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Aristotle on definition /
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This book argues that Aristotle offers us a consistent theory of definition, according to which a particular type of definition - one which states the formal cause of a simple item - is fundamental. It begins by considering definitions as indemonstrable first principles in demonstrations, and inquires how such definitions can have the certainty required by that role. Later chapters look to the Metaphysics to understand how the unity of definitions guarantees their certainty, and to the Topics to discover why definitions must be formulated in terms of the genus and differentia(e) of the object defined. This work contributes to our understanding of the connection between the function of definition in demonstration and its character as a statement of essence.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [213]-217) and indexes. :
9789047420583 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Aristotle : semantics and ontology.
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This study intends to show that the ascription of many shortcomings or obscurities to Aristotle is due to the persistent misinterpetation of key notions in his works, including anachronistic perceptions of statement making. In the first volume Aristotle's semantics is culled from the Organon. The second volume presents Aristotle's ontology of the sublunar world, and pays special attention to his strategy of argument in light of his semantic views. The reconstruction of the semantic models that come forward as genuinely Aristotelian can give a new impetus to the study of Aristotelian philosophic and semantic thought.
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1 online resource (xviii, 749 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004321144 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Plato's Cratylus : Argument, Form, and Structure /
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This book explains how the Cratylus , Plato's apparently meandering and comical dialogue on the correctness of names, makes serious philosophical progress by its notorious etymological digressions. While still a wild ride through a Heraclitean flood of etymologies which threatens to swamp language altogether, the Cratylus emerges as an astonishingly organized evaluation of the power of words.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401202381
9789042018754