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9781472534217 English 1472534212 Metaphysics deals with truth, existence and goodness; it also considers change, time and causation, which characterise the physical world, and thought and language. We are familiar with all these things, but when we try to say what they are we become tongue-tied. William Charlton draws a line between lexicography, which lists words, and grammar, which specifies constructions for various forms of speech. Both words and constructions have meaning, but in different ways, and he argues that the topics of metaphysics are expressed primarily by constructions. He surveys the history of philosophy from classical Greece to the present day, he shows how metaphysics and grammar grew up in tandem, and he connects the difficulties philosophers have encountered, especially since the Enlightenment, with a failure to grasp the significance for metaphysics of grammar as distinct from lexicography., Metaphysics deals with truth, existence, goodness, change, time, causation, thinking and saying. We feel we grasp them, but when we try to say what they are we become tongue-tied and attempts to explain them scientifically can be deeply unsatisfying. "Metaphysics and Grammar" argues that our grasp of the topics of metaphysics is part of our grasp of various forms of speech; that the ways of thinking in which those topics figure are differentiated by grammar. Surveying the history of philosophy from classical Greece to the present day, William Charlton shows how interest in metaphysics grew up with an interest in grammar and attributes the difficulties philosophers have had with metaphysical topics, particularly since the Enlightenment, largely to a failure to distinguish between things signified by words and things expressed by constructions. From truth, existence, goodness, change and time to causation, thought and speech, Charlton takes the traditional metaphysical topics in turn, illuminating grammar's relation to them and revealing the meaning behind grammatical constructions. By presenting metaphysics as an art, not a science, "Metaphysics and Grammar" familiarizes students with the fundamental and recurring philosophical questions.
9781472534217 English 1472534212 Metaphysics deals with truth, existence and goodness; it also considers change, time and causation, which characterise the physical world, and thought and language. We are familiar with all these things, but when we try to say what they are we become tongue-tied. William Charlton draws a line between lexicography, which lists words, and grammar, which specifies constructions for various forms of speech. Both words and constructions have meaning, but in different ways, and he argues that the topics of metaphysics are expressed primarily by constructions. He surveys the history of philosophy from classical Greece to the present day, he shows how metaphysics and grammar grew up in tandem, and he connects the difficulties philosophers have encountered, especially since the Enlightenment, with a failure to grasp the significance for metaphysics of grammar as distinct from lexicography., Metaphysics deals with truth, existence, goodness, change, time, causation, thinking and saying. We feel we grasp them, but when we try to say what they are we become tongue-tied and attempts to explain them scientifically can be deeply unsatisfying. "Metaphysics and Grammar" argues that our grasp of the topics of metaphysics is part of our grasp of various forms of speech; that the ways of thinking in which those topics figure are differentiated by grammar. Surveying the history of philosophy from classical Greece to the present day, William Charlton shows how interest in metaphysics grew up with an interest in grammar and attributes the difficulties philosophers have had with metaphysical topics, particularly since the Enlightenment, largely to a failure to distinguish between things signified by words and things expressed by constructions. From truth, existence, goodness, change and time to causation, thought and speech, Charlton takes the traditional metaphysical topics in turn, illuminating grammar's relation to them and revealing the meaning behind grammatical constructions. By presenting metaphysics as an art, not a science, "Metaphysics and Grammar" familiarizes students with the fundamental and recurring philosophical questions.