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68Bradley and the impossibility of absolute truthHistory and Philosophy of Logic 2 (1-2): 25-39. 1981.Bradley thought that there is a connexion between the theory of reality and the theory of truth. The theory of reality to which he subscribed, Monism, rules out a correspondence theory of truth, he thought, since it denies the existence of a plurality of facts, or things, in virtue of correspondence to which a judgment could be true. But though he rejects the correspondence theory he insists on the independence of truth from belief, wish and hope. For him the test of truth is coherence, which ha…Read more
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30The Concept of Meaning By Thomas E. Hill London: George Allen & Unwin, 1974, xiii + 328 pp., £6.95 (review)Philosophy 51 (197): 369-. 1976.
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7Review of Gareth Evans and John McDowell: Truth and Meaning: Essays in Semantics_; L. K. KEENAN: _Formal Semanties of Natural Language (review)British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 30 (4): 411-418. 1979.
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36Bradley, Collingwood and The Presuppositions of Critical HistoryBradley Studies 3 (1): 5-24. 1997.Bradley’s first work, The Presuppositions of Critical History, was published in 1874 when he was 28, and was followed shortly by the publication of Ethical Studies ‘in 1876. T.S. Eliot, who wrote his doctoral thesis on Bradley and was a great admirer of not only his philosophy but also his prose, described the British philosopher as a ‘master of style’; but that of The Presuppositions often seems over embellished, even a little pretentious. Moreover, though the argument is dense it is compressed…Read more
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1Saussure: Signs, System and ArbitrarinessCambridge University Press. 1991.The Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure has exerted a profound influence not only on twentieth century linguistics but on a whole range of disciplines within the humanities and social sciences. His central thesis was that the primary object in studying a language is the state of that language at a particular time – a so-called synchronic study. He went on to claim that a language state is a socially constituted system of signs that are quite arbitrary and that can only be defined in terms of th…Read more
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19Grammar in Philosophy By Bede Rundle Clarendon Press: Oxford University Press, 1979, viii + 491 pp., £14.00 (review)Philosophy 58 (226): 554-. 1983.
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47Parts and WholesBradley Studies 1 (1): 57-68. 1995.I want to try to elucidate passages like the following which are not only to be found frequently in Bradley’s writings, but which articulate a position central to his metaphysics
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31Consciousness, design and social practiceJournal of Consciousness Studies 8 (8): 43-58. 2001.It has been proposed by Dawkins, Dennett and others that memes are the units of cultural evolution. We here concentrate on Dennett's account because of the role it plays in his explanation of human consciousness - which is our principal target. Memes are claimed to be replicators that work on Darwinian principles. But in what sense are they replicators, and in what way are they responsible for their own propagation? We argue that their ability to replicate themselves is severely limited, particu…Read more
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15Meaning and the Background of BeliefIn Herman [Ed] Parret (ed.), On Believing. De la Croyance. Epistemological and Semiotic Approaches, De Gruyter. pp. 146-160. 1983.
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110Words and Deeds: Problems in the Theory of Speech ActsOxford University Press. 1978.The book presents a theory of illocutionary acts. It argues that the study of speech acts initiatied by Austin complements the truth theoretic approach to speaker meaning. It is shown that there are aspects of speaker meaning which cannot be explained by truth theoretic approaches. Though the nature of a speech act is partially determined by the semantic type of the the sentence uttered the speaker's intention and context of utterance are important also.
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43Jurisprudence: Texts and CommentaryLexis Law Publishing (Va). 1991.Features collected extracts from key texts in jurisprudence, with commentary. These discuss the nature of law, and modern attempts to find an acceptable theory of justice. The book is intended for students of law.
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4Parts and WholesBradley Studies 1 (1): 57-68. 1995.I want to try to elucidate passages like the following which are not only to be found frequently in Bradley’s writings, but which articulate a position central to his metaphysics
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1Indirect speech acts and propositional contentIn Savas L. Tsohatzidis (ed.), Foundations of Speech Act Theory: Philosophical and Linguistic Perspectives, Routledge. pp. 350--64. 1994.
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Difficulties with Austin's and Searle's theoriesIn Savas L. Tsohatzidis (ed.), Foundations of Speech Act Theory: Philosophical and Linguistic Perspectives, Routledge. pp. 350. 1994.
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62Memes, minds and evolutionPhilosophy 75 (2): 161-182. 2000.It is common in the history of science to try to extend an idea first demonstrated in one domain into others. Sometimes the extension is literal, and sometimes it is frankly metaphorical. Sometimes, however, when an extension is claimed to be literal, it is far from easy to see that it is. If an extension does not make use of entities and mechanisms involved in the original domain, and introduces novel entities and mechanisms, then it is not unreasonable to doubt the claim of its authors that it…Read more
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FURBERG, M. - "Saying and Meaning: A Main Theme in J. L. Austin's Philosophy" (review)Mind 82 (n/a): 626. 1973.
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University of LeedsRetired faculty
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Language |
Philosophy of Law |