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466The Variety of RationalityAristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 59 (1): 139-176. 1985.I discuss the connections between rationality and intentional action, emphasising that different kinds of action are rational an intentional in different ways.
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107Words 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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64A Plea for Excuses?Philosophy 44 (170). 1969.In ‘A Plea For Excuses’ Austin observes that there are many situations in which a person accused of doing an action A wishes to protest that it is not altogether accurate or fair to say that he did A. The person may wish to excuse himself from an accusation of doing A on the grounds that what happened was inadvertent, or the result of an accident, or done by mistake etc. etc. Moreover if he really has an excuse, then it will no longer be possible simply to say that he did A, because it will be s…Read more
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61Memes, 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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61Bradley 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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42Parts 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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40Jurisprudence: 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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37Saying and Understanding: A Generative Theory of IllocutionsPhilosophical Quarterly 27 (106): 82. 1977.
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32Bradley, 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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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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24Consciousness, 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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20Subject and Predicate in Logic and Grammar By P. F. Strawson Methuen, 1974, vii + 144 pp., £3.50 cloth, £1.50 paper (review)Philosophy 50 (194): 481-. 1975.
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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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University of LeedsRetired faculty
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Language |
Philosophy of Law |