Meaning A Very Short Introduction

by Borg, Emma; Fisher, Sarah A.

• ISBN13: 9780192866547
• ISBN10: 0192866540
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-03-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

Our ability to find meaning in things is one of the most important aspects of human life. But it is also one of the most mysterious. Where does meaning come from? What sorts of things have meaning? And how do we grasp the meaning others want to convey? This Very Short Introduction is shaped by exploring possible answers to these questions.

Human societies have one particularly important device for expressing and sharing meaning: language. Since our words are paradigm examples of things which have meaning, in this book, Emma Borg and Sarah Fisher use meaning in language as a case study for exploring meaning more generally. They focus on three possible sources for word meaning: things in the world, things in the mind, and social practices, exploring the key approaches thinkers have put forward in each of these arenas. Finally, they end by looking at some concrete applications of the ideas and approaches introduced in the book.

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Author Biography

Emma Borg, Professorial Research Fellow, University of London,Sarah A. Fisher, Research Fellow, University College London

Emma Borg is Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, London. Previously she was at the University of Reading (where she had been Director of the Reading Centre for Cognition Research and Head of Department). Her research deals with the relationship between meaning and context, and the nature of communication and reasoning. She has held two major Leverhulme awards and served as the White Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Philosophy, University of Chicago. Emma also works in business ethics and serves as an Independent Advisor to the Professional Standards Committee of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.


Sarah A. Fisher is a Research Fellow at UCL. Her work investigates how subtle differences in language affect our judgements and behaviour-and what this implies for the nature of meaning, communication, and thought. She has published articles in a range of philosophical and interdisciplinary academic journals.

Table of Contents

1. Meaning and language2. Meaning and some practical problems3. Meaning and objects4. Meaning and truth5. Meaning and concepts6. Meaning and thoughts7. Meaning and useReferences and Further Reading