A Companion to the Philosophy of Language, 2 Volume Set

“Providing up-to-date, in-depth coverage of the central question, and written and edited by some of the foremost practitioners in the field, this timely new edition will no doubt be a go-to reference for anyone with a serious interest in the philosophy of language.”

Kathrin Glüer-Pagin, Stockholm University

Now published in two volumes, the second edition of the best-selling Companion to the Philosophy of Language provides a complete survey of contemporary philosophy of language. The Companion has been greatly extended and now includes a monumental 17 new essays – with topics chosen by the editors, who curated suggestions from current contributors – and almost all of the 25 original chapters have been updated to take account of recent developments in the field.

In addition to providing a synoptic view of the key issues, figures, concepts, and debates, each essay introduces new and original contributions to ongoing debates, as well as addressing a number of new areas of interest, including two-dimensional semantics, modality and epistemic modals, and semantic relationism. The extended “state-of-the-art” chapter format allows the authors, all of whom are internationally eminent scholars in the field, to incorporate original research to a far greater degree than competitor volumes. Unrivaled in scope, this volume represents the best contemporary critical thinking relating to the philosophy of language.

Keywords: central question; philosophy of language; Companion to the Philosophy of Language; contemporary philosophy of language; philosophy of language; two-dimensional semantics;  modality modals; epistemic modals; semantic relationism; leading philosophers; rule following; modality; realism; indeterminacy of translation; inscrutability of reference; names and rigid destination; Davidson's programme; meaning and verification; intention and convention; radical interpretation; tacit knowledge; metaphor; causal theories of semantics; object identity; identity criteria; theories of truth; force and pragmatics;  essentialism; demonstratives; reference and necessity; identity; meaning and privacy of language; vagueness; sorites paradox; holisms; propositional attitudes; analyticity; philosophical research, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Language