Open Compositionality: Toward a New Methodology of Language

Author:   Eduardo García-Ramírez
Publisher:   Lexington Books
ISBN:  

9781498562720


Pages:   242
Publication Date:   27 June 2019
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Our Price $224.00 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Open Compositionality: Toward a New Methodology of Language


Add your own review!

Overview

Open Compositionality: Towards a New Methodology of Language argues that natural languages, like English and Spanish, are not only systems of representation useful for communication but also, and most importantly, highly interactive cognitive capacities allowing humans to engage in complex forms of cognition. This view goes against the orthodoxy in philosophy of language, which considers natural languages to be specialized systems consisting of only linguistic elements and functioning in a closed compositional manner, allowing for a fully formal, algebraic descriptions. Eduardo García Ramírez rejects the longstanding principle of compositionality, according to which the meaning of any complex expression is fully determined by its parts and the way they are combined, and substitutes it with an alternative, open and interactive one. This novel view of the nature of language better accounts for the empirical evidence. García Ramírez develops an account of open compositionality, accompanied by the cognition first methodology, in which natural languages are conceived as supermodular cognitive capacities that allow for interaction among multiple distinct areas of human cognition. The explanatory success of this novel proposal and its accompanying methodology are tested by the author’s account of three enduring philosophical problems: substitution failure, empty names, and the nature of moral discourse.

Full Product Details

Author:   Eduardo García-Ramírez
Publisher:   Lexington Books
Imprint:   Lexington Books
Dimensions:   Width: 16.10cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.70cm
Weight:   0.535kg
ISBN:  

9781498562720


ISBN 10:   1498562728
Pages:   242
Publication Date:   27 June 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Preface 1. Two Views of Language 2. The Closed View and Strong Compositionality 3. The Failure of Strong Compositionality 4. Open Compositionality and the Cognition First Methodology 5. Lexical Processing Architecture and Substitution Failure 6. Decoupled Representations and Empty Names 7. Moral Discourse, Moral Cognition and the Language Analogy Bibliography

Reviews

This book offers a completely new look at the traditional Principle of Compositionality and its power to account for the meaning of linguistic expressions. Garcia Ramirez lucidly argues against what he calls 'Closed Compositionality,' i.e., the idea that the meaning of complex expressions in a given language is fully determined on the basis of its lexicon and syntactic/semantic axioms. From the author's perspective, the interpretation of those expressions strongly depends on the different kinds of cognitive processes underlying their use. After a careful evaluation of recent discoveries in psycholinguistics and neurosciences, Garcia Ramirez proposes an original alternative thesis, Open Compositionality, according to which complex linguistic expressions can only be adequately interpreted on grounds of a multifaceted decision-making procedure. Open Compositionality convincingly deploys the significant advantages for the study of natural language carried by this extraordinary methodological turn. It should be read by anyone interested in getting a clearer idea of how we are able to communicate with one another through language use. -- Eleonora Orlando, University of Buenos Aires


Author Information

Eduardo García Ramírez is research fellow at the Institute for Philosophical Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

ls

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List