The Philosophy of Charles Travis: Language, Thought, and Perception

by John Collins (Editor), Tamara Dobler (Editor)

Overview

This volume offers a collective critical engagement with the thought of Charles Travis, a leading contemporary philosopher of language and mind, and a scholar of the history of analytical philosophy. The work of Charles Travis is fundamentally situated in the analytical tradition, yet is also radically at odds with many assumptions characteristic of the tradition, especially as regards the nature of language and perception as representational capacities. Twelve philosophers explore themes in his work, and Travis gives extended responses. The editors provide an introductory chapter which situates Travis's ideas in the context of contemporary philosophy of language and mind. The volume divides into three sections, relating to language, thought, and perception. Topics covered in detail include: the nature of linguistic and perceptual representation; Frege; Wittgenstein; the role of context in fixing speech content; and the structure of thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191086519
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	07/03/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

John Collins is Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia. His work focuses on the philosophy of language, with especial reference to the status and results of generative linguistics. He also researches on truth, propositions, and various issues in the philosophy of mind. He is the author of many papers, and the books Chomsky: A Guide for the Perplexed (Continuum, 2008) and The Unity of Linguistic Meaning (OUP, 2011). Tamara Dobler is EU Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Amsterdam. She has written articles on Wittgenstein and context-sensitivity, and her current research focuses on formal modelling of occasion-sensitivity of declarative and interrogative sentences. Charles Travis is Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at King's College, London. He is the author of many journal articles and numerous books, including, most recently, Perception: Essays after Frege (OUP 2013) and Objectivity and the Parochial (OUP 2010).

Table of Contents

1. The Work of Charles Travis: a Contemporary Overview, John Collins & Tamara Dobler
Part I: Thought
2. On Content and Context: Context Sensitivity and Some of Its Critics, Hilary Putnam
3. On Rule-Following: Wright, McDowell and Travis, Marie McGinn
4. What Structure Lurks in the Minds of Men? Frege vs. Fodor, Charles Travis
Part II: Language
5. Wittgenstein, Dummett and Travis: Theorizing About Logic, Language and Meaning, Oskari Kuusela
6. Just What Is It That Makes Travis's Examples So Different, So Appealing?, Nat Hansen
7. Communicating by Doing Something Else, Alex Davies
8. Perceiving Language: Issues between Travis and Chomsky, John Collins
9. Contextualism and Singular Reference, Francois Recanati
Part III: Perception
10. Are the Senses Silent? Travis's Argument from Looks, Keith Wilson
11. Experiential Pluralism and the Power of Perception, Mark Eli Kalderon
12. Surveying the Facts, Guy Longworth
13. Aspects, Properties and Ingredients, Michael O'Sullivan
Part IV: Replies
Replies, Charles Travis

Editorial Reviews

"excellent . . . often illuminating, often thought-provoking.. . . I very much recommend this volume to anyone interested in Travis's philosophy or in the history of analytic philosophy" — Reshef Agam-Segal, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher