Synopses & Reviews
Meaning, Understanding, and Practice is a selection of the most notable essays of leading contemporary philosopher Barry Stroud on a set of topics central to analytic philosophy. In this collection, Stroud offers penetrating studies of meaning, understanding, necessity, and the intentionality of thought. Throughout he asks how much can be expected from a philosophical account of one's understanding of the meaning of something, and questions whether such an account can succeed without implying that the person understands many other things as well. Most of the essays work with ideas derived from Wittgenstein, and five of the essays focus specifically on Wittgenstein's philosophy. Stroud's helpful introduction draws out the recurring themes he pursues and explains how his ideas and aims have developed over the years.
About the Author
Barry Stroud is Mills Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Wittgenstein and Logical Necessity (1965)
2. Conventionalism and the Indeterminacy of Translation (1968)
3. Inference, Belief, and Understanding (1979)
4. Evolution and the Necessities of Thought (1981)
5. Wittgenstein's 'Treatment' of the Quest for 'a language which describes my inner experiences and which only I myself can understand' (1983)
6. Wittgenstein on Meaning, Understanding, and Community (1990)
7. Quine's Physicalism (1990)
8. Meaning, Understanding, and Translation (1990)
9. The Background of Thought (1991)
10. Quine on Exile and Acquiescence (1995)
11. Mind, Meaning, and Practice (1996)
12. The Theory of Meaning and the Practice of Communication (1998)
13. Private Objects, Physical Objects, and Ostension (2000)
Index