Meaning and Argument: An Introduction to Logic Through Language

Meaning and Argument shifts introductory logic from the traditional emphasis on proofs to the symbolization of arguments. Another of its distinctive features is that it shows how the need for expressive power and for drawing distinctions forces formal language development.

This volume is ideal as an introduction to formal logic, philosophical logic, and philosophy of language. At each stage of system elaboration and development, the book answers meta-logical questions. Why is a particular formalism needed? What must go into such a formalism and why? These questions engage students in a collective inquiry which allows them to see logical studies as a human enterprise aimed at achieving well-understood goals – clarity and good reasoning.

This second edition extends and systematizes the account of anaphora, including “donkey” anaphora, plural anaphora, and cross-sentential anaphora. It also has additional sections on counter-models and semantics, and contains additional exercises and an updated bibliography.

Ernest Lepore is the Associate Director of the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University and is the author of numerous articles in philosophy of language. He is co-author (with Herman Cappelen) of Insensitive Semantics (Blackwell, 2004) and co-author (with Jerry Fodor) of Holism (Blackwell, 1991). He is editor of Truth and Interpretation (Blackwell, 1989), co-editor (with Zenon Pylyshyn) of What is Cognitive Science? (Blackwell, 1999), and general editor of the series Philosophers and Their Critics, published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Sam Cumming is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles.