My Top Philosophy Pieces of 2019, #2
5. Christopher Menzel, “In Defense of the Possibilism-Actualism Distinction” . (Post)
4. Edward Zalta, “Essence and Modality”. (Post)
3. Aaron Cotnoir, “On the Role of Logic in Analytic Theology: Exploring the Wider Context of Beall’s Philosophy of Logic”. (Post)
2. Language Turned on Itself: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Metalinguistic Discourse, Herman Cappelen and Ernie Lepore.
I just picked up this book within the past couple of weeks because of the research I’m doing on the metaphysics of language, so I haven’t read every word of every chapter. But the introductory section alone made this title one my favorites.
Let me acknowledge that the existence of a book completely devoted to the philosophy of quotation seems at first glance to be an unintentional parody of the discipline of philosophy; philosophers don’t have better things to do than scrutinize something like quotation, of all things? But there are a few benefits from the book that might surprise you.
First, part of the book’s mission is to convince readers of the importance of quotation within philosophy of language; their first chapter is titled “Advertisement”, so it’s an academic commercial for the topic. What ends up happening as a result is that the reader gets a tour of many sub-topics and issues within philosophy of language through the lens of quotation. The authors ask the reader about the truth conditions and semantic value of all kinds of statements that include quotation, and we’re further asked metaphysical questions about what the linguistic objects denote. For example, in the statement,
1.3. ‘The’ is the definite article in English.
what is “‘The’” denoting there? (Also, notice I had to use quotes to quote a quoted term; quotation-of-quotation is addressed throughout the book). “Is it a set, a property, or some other kind of abstract object? Is it a token?” (2) It couldn’t be a token, otherwise that one word after ‘1.3’ would be the thing I also used after ‘be’ in this very sentence, and those are two separate tokens. Or consider the difference between
1.8. Quine said ‘Quotation has a certain anomalous feature’.
1.9. Quine said that quotation has a certain anomalous feature.
1.10. Quine said that quotation ‘has a certain anomalous feature’.
What, exactly, does each of these statements say is said by Quine, and why?
Second, one residual effect of reading an account of quotation is an increased precision in using that feature of language. Unless forced to do so, I prefer to put punctuation outside quotation, because I think it reflects a consistency of what is quoted; if I’m not quoting a comma or period, then I should leave those aspects outside the quotation. And there are times when double-quotation, single-quotation, and use of parentheses all have particular uses and purposes within a piece, which could contribute to a precise meaning that is otherwise misinterpreted. Reading a book that deals with dozens of examples and a good amount of theories on quotation makes you pay attention to your words in a way that contributes toward increased clarity.
Third, and related to the last point, focusing on quotation makes one more aware of how to quote others with precision, so that a quotation honors that person’s work and thought. If I paraphrase someone, yet put my words in quotes, the reader will think the original author wrote that statement using those very words in that very order. If it’s important to represent someone accurately, it’s important to get quotation right.
I should also mention that the book is relatively accessible. Books on philosophy of language can sometimes get extremely technical and can include a lot of formalism. Formalism can sometimes eliminate ambiguity and clarify concepts, but it often means that those outside the field are unable to grasp the main points. This book is relatively accessible, is written with clear prose, and even adds humor throughout.
So if you’re looking for a unique read with, I think, a lot of payoff, I think you’ll like what the authors do here.
- Paul Taylor, Black is Beautiful: A Philosophy of Black Aesthetics.
