Reasoning, Meaning, and Mind

by Gilbert Harman

Overview

Gilbert Harman presents a selection of fifteen interconnected essays on fundamental issues at the centre of analytic philosophy. The book opens with a group of four essays discussing basic principles of reasoning and rationality. The next three essays argue against the idea that certain claims are true by virtue of meaning and knowable by virtue of meaning. In the third group of essays Harman sets out his own view of meaning, arguing that it depends upon the functioning of concepts in reasoning, perception, and action, by which these concepts are related to the world. He also examines the relation between language and thought. The final three essays investigate the nature of mind, developing further the themes already set out. Reasoning, Meaning, and Mind offers an integrated presentation of this rich and influential body of work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191519345
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	07/01/1999
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	1380L (what's this?)
File size:	418 KB

About the Author

Gilbert Harman is Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University.

Table of Contents

IntroductionPart I. Reasoning1. Rationality2. Practical Reasoning3. Simplicity as a Pragmatic Criterion for Deciding What Hypotheses to Take Seriously4. Pragmatism and Reasons for BeliefPart II. Analyticity5. The Death of Meaning6. Doubts about Conceptual Analysis7. Analyticity Regained?Part III. Meaning8. Three Levels of Meaning9. Language, Thought, and Communication10. Language Learning11. Meaning and Semantics12. (Nonsolipsistic) Conceptual Role SemanticsPart IV. Mind13. Wide Functionalism14. The Intrinsic Quality of Experience15. Immanent versus Transcendent Theories of Meaning and MindBibliographyIndex