Inquiries Into Truth and Interpretation [Paperback]

Donald Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 1984 | ISBN-10: 0198750463 | ISBN-13: 978-0198750468

The eighteen essays in this collection address the question of what it is for words to mean what they do. Davidson covers such topics as the relation between theories of truth and theories of meaning, translation, quotation, belief, radical interpretation, reference, metaphor, and communication.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Essential for any philosophical library....[This book] is welcome, and not just because it brings together papers which originally were scattered in numerous journals and collections....What is more important is that, when read together and in sequence, the essays reveal a clear, sustained, and systematic struggle with problems of truth, meaning, and interpretation which fairly bristles with important implications for metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, and epistemology....I am confident that [the book's] contents will continue to be of interest not only to philosophers of language and linguists, but also to philosophers of mind, metaphysicians, philosophers of science, and epistemologists."--The Modern Schoolman

About the Author

Donald Davidson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. Donald Davidson is Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, completing his Ph.D. in classical philosophy after serving in the US Navy from 1942 to 1945. Before coming to Berkeley in 1981, he was Professor at Stanford, Princeton, Rockefeller, and the University of Chicago. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 26, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198750463
• ISBN-13: 978-0198750468
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #682,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very hard to read, but pays, November 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (C Pedd T the Philosophical Ess) (Paperback)

As the previous reviewer says, the book contains many of Davidson's seminal papers in the philosophy of language. This book, however, cannot be used as an introduction to anything, not to philosophy of language and not even to Davidson's. His style is extremely compressed, and sometimes he merely intimates what should be carefully explained. What it ideally takes two paragraphs to say, Davidson says in two lines; each sentence is therefore crammed up with thoughts; at some places the author becomes oracular.

I would love to say that Ramberg's book on Davidson can be of help for the beginner, but I must confess instead that I find Davidson's "Inquires" an excellent commentary on Ramberg.

This book will be understood only by those who are already trained in philosophy of language and who understand some logic too. I said "only by", not "by all".

For critical comments on the contents of the book, I refer the reader to a rather harsh and carping review by Jonathan Bennett, I think it was in "Mind", 1985.

As one reviewer in the backcover says, "struggle and learn". Here you have a great book by a great philosopher of language.

4.0 out of 5 stars Handy Collection of Davidson Essays, September 8, 2011

By 

Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (C Pedd T the Philosophical Ess) (Paperback)

Originally published in 1984 `Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation' is a compilation of Donald Davidson essays pertaining to the philosophy of language. For those unfamiliar with the author Davidson is one of the best known American philosophers of the late twentieth century, he has made noteworthy contributions in the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and epistemology.

Readers would be well advised to check the table of context prior to purchasing this text given that many of the essays have been previously published. Essays in this collection are largely concerned with the notions of meaning and truth essays, Davidson's writing on the philosophy of mind can be found in the companion volume `Essays on Actions and Events". In the present text there is considerable overlap between the essays, this, is not per se a bad think for either Davidson connoisseurs or newcomers seeking to get their head around his thought. For the former group the repetition allows one to follow the progression of his thought while for the latter group given that Davidson's prose is notoriously abstruse and awkward, repetition can be helpful. I read this text in conjunction with `Meaning, Truth, Language and Reality' by Lepore and Ludwig. And while Ludwig and Lepore are leading Davidson scholars the text is difficult and probably only of value for dedicated student of Davidson.

Overall, this is a handy collection of essays that I would recommend for readers interested in Davidson. Be forewarned, however, Davidson is an acquired taste. Readers new to philosophy are likely to find him tedious and pedantic.

6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it!, June 28, 2000

By 

dk13 (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inquiries Into Truth and Interpretation (Paperback)

Excellent book. A must read for everyone interested in philosophy of language. This book contains all of Davidson's important articles concerning philosophy of language.