Philosophy of Language

This book offers fifty short chapter entries on topics in the philosophy of language. Each addresses a paradox, a longstanding puzzle, or a major theme that has emerged in the field, tracing overlap with issues in philosophy of mind, cognitive science, ethics, political philosophy, and literature.

Michael P. Wolf is Professor of Philosophy at Washington and Jefferson College. He writes on topics in philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaethics. His published works include The Normative and the Natural (2016) with Jeremy Koons, and numerous articles in journals such as Philosophical Studies, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, and Philosophical Investigations.

Part I: Big picture questions Part II: Early Analytic Philosophy and Pragmatism Part III: Wittgenstein on Rule-Following and Private Language Part IV: Semantic Paradoxes Part V: Context-Sensitivity Part VI: Speech Acts and Pragmatics Part VII: Lingering Issues About Meaning Part VIII: Naturalism and Externalism