Semantic Powers

Meaning and the Means of Knowing in Classical Indian Philosophy
Erscheinungsjahr 1999
ISBN: 978-0-19-823788-4
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 529 g

Jonardon Ganeri defends a conception of language as essentially a means for the reception of knowledge through testimony. He argues that the possibility of testimony constrains the form of a theory of meaning. In particular, the semantic power of a word, its ability to stand for or take the place of a thing, derives from the epistemic powers of understanders, their capacity to acquire knowledge simply by understanding what is said.

Ganeri finds this account in the work of certain Indian philosophers of language, those belonging to the late classical school of Navya-Ny(ya. He presents a detailed analysis of their theories, paying particular attention to the influential seventeenth-century philosopher Gad(dhara. Ganeri examines the Indian account of the meaning relation and its relata, the role of modes of thought as meaning constituents, and the application of the theory to theoretical names and anaphora.

The aim of Semantic Powers is to give epistemology a central place in the study of language. It also shows how classical Indian theory of language can inform and be informed by contemporary philosophy.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ganeri, Jonardon

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Indische & Asiatische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Erkenntnistheorie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction

- 1: The Nature of Language

- 2: Instruments of Knowledge

- 3: Meaning Relata

- 4: The Meaning Relation

- 5: Meaning and Modes of Thought

- 6: Stipulation

- 7: Indexicality

- Bibliography

- Index

Über Autor(innen)

Jonardon Ganeri is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. He held positions previously at the Universities of London and Stirling.