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Title: Consciousness and Language by John R. Searle ISBN: 0-521-59744-7 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Not a fan, but still very good.
Comment: Yeah, so, I'm going to avoid the part where i think that a couple of important things in this book are stated too vaguely for a responsible philosopher, or where i mention that he seems to make one or two blatant errors of omission. I'm going to avoid these things for the dual reasons that a) they aren't really relevant to whether you should read this or not, and b) i allow for the possibility that i'm imagining these gaps because i haven't understood him, in which case i'm the stupid one. Given my presistent commitment to Legends of the Hidden Temple, that's a distinct possibility.
In spite of what i consider some overly-squooshy language in a handful of places, this is a great book. I'd read intentionality, but never speech acts, and this book seems to tie all of searle's ideas into one large discussion about speech, intention, consciousness, with a few of the expected cuts on AI. It's really put together very well, and the flow from discussions of consciousness to intention to speech acts makes each of the constituent pieces more poigniant. Searle very rarely drifts into blustering territory, writing clearly and concisely in most of the cases where i found a need for really detailed exposition. Good stuff.
So, like i say, 7 times out of 10, i find Searle less than compelling, but this is a really nice survey of a lot of his ideas, and worth a read either as an introduction to his thinking or as a piece that ties together a lot of his older ideas into one coherent package. He's an important guy with important ideas who has helped shape a lot of important discussions, agree or disagree, this book articulates these contributions well.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Superb Collection of Articles...
Comment: Searle has collected a large and important variety of articles in this text, which spans several years of thinking on issues such as: the nature of consciousness, free will, the mind-body problem, rationality, and collective action. Only one article on Kripke's meaning skepticism has been not previously published.
The vigor and force of questions that Searle queries regarding how it is possible to reconcile our intuitions about having a 'free will' in a world of physical laws and (all things being equal) deterministic principles is important and fundamental. I highly recommend this volume, which conveniently assembles previous articles, and it makes clear Searle's position on these problems. Indeed, it makes clear exactly how difficult and challenging philosophical problems and questions are--and why philosophers stay awake at nights thinking about them...and why no easy solution is forthcoming in philosophy or science...
The articles are written in Searle's usual style--with problem solving on his mind--clearly stating the problem to be addressed and evaluated--a model of philosophical prose...
And I might add...the cover photograph of Searle is splendid--him in a tweed coat...autumn leaves...just in case you've wondered what a suave academic is supposed to look like nowdays...
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Title: The Mystery of Consciousness by John R. Searle ISBN: 0940322064 Publisher: New York Review of Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Rationality in Action (Jean Nicod Lectures) by John R. Searle ISBN: 0262692821 Publisher: Bradford Book Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Mind, Language, and Society : Philosophy in the Real World by John R. Searle, John Searle ISBN: 0465045219 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Construction of Social Reality by John R. Searle ISBN: 0684831791 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Rediscovery of the Mind (Representation and Mind) by John R. Searle ISBN: 026269154X Publisher: Bradford Book Pub. Date: 08 July, 1992 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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