Alik Pelman

Words and (Possible) Worlds

A Philosophical Study of Reference

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This study is about the relation between language and reality; between words and world. It is a study of reference. Analysing reference often leads to addressing fundamental issues in semantics, metaphysics and epistemology. This suggests that reference is closely linked to the three realms. The overall purpose of this study is thus to elucidate the structure of some of these links. In many enquiries, considering possible worlds in addition to the actual world proves very helpful in clarifying and explicating insights. The case of reference is no different: examining reference not only in the actual world but also in other possible worlds significantly improves our understanding of it. In the course of the study, familiar philosophical puzzles will be addressed, e.g., does the term water refer to the watery stuff on Twin Earth, which is not H2O but rather XYZ? Does it refer to the pink solid H2O on another possible world? Could this table come into existence from a different hunkof wood than the one it was made of? Could we discover that Queen Elizabeth was not the daughter of George VI, i.e., is it Queen Elizabeth that we would be talking about?

Produktdetails

• Verlag: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 204
• Erscheinungstermin: 24. April 2010
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 220mm x 150mm x 13mm
• Gewicht: 322g
• ISBN-13: 9783838360300
• ISBN-10: 3838360303
• Artikelnr.: 29731262

Autorenporträt

BA, MPhil (Hebrew University of Jerusalem); PhD (University of London, UCL). Dr. Pelman''s research interests include the philosophy of language, metaphysics, philosophy of science and environmental ethics.