Overview
At least since Locke, philosophers and psychologists have usually held that concepts arise out of sensory perceptions, thoughts are built from concepts, and language enables speakers to convey their thoughts to hearers. Christopher Gauker holds that this tradition is mistaken about both concepts and language. The mind cannot abstract the building blocks of thoughts from perceptual representations. More generally, we have no account of the origin of concepts that grants them the requisite independence from language. Gauker's alternative is to show that much of cognition consists in thinking by means of mental imagery, without the help of concepts, and that language is a tool by which interlocutors coordinate their actions in pursuit of shared goals. Imagistic cognition supports the acquisition and use of this tool, and when the use of this tool is internalized, it becomes the very medium of conceptual thought.
Full Product Details
Author: Christopher Gauker (University of Cincinnati)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.10cm
, Height: 3.20cm
, Length: 23.80cm
Weight: 0.656kg
ISBN: 9780199599462
ISBN 10: 0199599467
Pages: 316
Publication Date: 30 June 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Christopher Gauker's new book is a rich and innovative study of the nature of conceptual thought, its relation to language, the relation between concepts and perception, and the place of imagistic thinking in cognition ... There is much to like in Words and Images. It is ambitious and deals with a fundamental question in the philosophy of mind ... It is full of bold, iconoclastic views ... detailed arguments for these views and against competing ones, and careful discussion of possible objections. It moves swiftly between philosophical arguments and psychological hypotheses and results, which is very fitting for the topic. Edouard Machery, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
Christopher Gauker's new book is a rich and innovative study of the nature of conceptual thought, its relation to language, the relation between concepts and perception, and the place of imagistic thinking in cognition ... There is much to like in Words and Images. It is ambitious and deals with a fundamental question in the philosophy of mind ... It is full of bold, iconoclastic views ... detailed arguments for these views and against competing ones, and careful discussion of possible objections. It moves swiftly between philosophical arguments and psychological hypotheses and results, which is very fitting for the topic. Edouard Machery, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews [Gauker's] new book offers a mind-boggling effort to overthrow many philosophical orthodoxies and received wisdoms. ... [it] is also noteworthy for the broad scope of problems covered ... It is a book definitely worth reading Jaroslav Peregrin, Organon F
Author Information
Christopher Gauker is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cincinnati. He works in both the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind. His prior books include Words without Meaning (2003) and Conditionals in Context (2005).
