Philosophy of linguistics is a subfield of philosophy that explores the nature, origins, and implications of language from a philosophical perspective. It involves examining the fundamental questions related to language, such as: 1. **Nature of Meaning**: What does it mean for words and sentences to have meaning? How do we understand and interpret language? 2. **Reference and Truth**: How do words refer to objects, concepts, or states of affairs in the world?
In the field of semantics, "books" can refer to several different concepts, depending on the context. Here are a few interpretations: 1. **Semantics of Language**: In linguistics, books on semantics cover the study of meaning in language. This includes topics such as word meanings, sentence meanings, and how context influences interpretation. Such books often explore various theories of meaning, including truth-conditional semantics, formal semantics, and distributional semantics.
"Sense and Sensibilia" is a collection of lectures by the philosopher J.L. Austin, delivered in the early 1960s, which were later published posthumously in 1962. In this work, Austin explores issues related to perception, language, and the nature of reality, particularly critiquing traditional philosophical ideas about sense perception and the relationship between our senses and the world.
"Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter" is a book by the philosopher and cognitive scientist **Terrence Deacon**, published in 2012. In this work, Deacon explores the emergence of life, consciousness, and meaning from the processes of natural evolution and physical systems. He argues against reductionist approaches that attempt to explain complex phenomena solely in terms of simpler components.
"Man a Machine" is a philosophical work by Julien Offray de La Mettrie, a French physician and philosopher, published in 1747. In this text, La Mettrie posits a materialist view of human beings, arguing that humans can be understood as complex machines governed by physical laws. He suggests that the mind and body are not separate entities, but rather that mental processes arise from physical bodily functions.
"Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit" is a philosophical work written by the British philosopher and psychologist Joseph Priestley. First published in 1777, the book explores the nature of matter and consciousness, discussing the relationship between the material world and the mind or spirit. Priestley, who is best known for his contributions to chemistry and his work on the discovery of oxygen, also delved into metaphysical questions.
"Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point" is a book written by the physicist and philosopher Huw Price, published in 1996. The work explores foundational issues in the philosophy of physics, particularly concerning the nature of time and the directionality of time, often referred to as the "arrow of time." ### Time's Arrow: The concept of "time's arrow" refers to the idea that time has a direction – it moves forward from past to present to future.
Anti-psychiatry is a movement that emerged in the mid-20th century, primarily as a reaction against certain practices and assumptions within the field of psychiatry. It critiques the way mental illness is defined, diagnosed, and treated, and challenges the biomedical model that often dominates psychiatric practice.
"The Center of the Cyclone" is a book written by John C. Lilly, a neuroscientist and psychoanalyst, published in 1972. In the book, Lilly explores his experiences with altered states of consciousness, particularly through the use of sensory deprivation tanks, and discusses various aspects of human consciousness, existence, and the nature of reality.
The Kekulé Problem refers to the question of determining the structure and properties of certain organic compounds, particularly those involving aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene. Named after the German chemist August Kekulé, the issue primarily centers around understanding how to represent the bonding and electron delocalization in these molecules, specifically the concept of resonance.
Background independence is a concept primarily used in theoretical physics, particularly in the context of general relativity and quantum gravity. It refers to the idea that the laws of physics should not depend on a fixed background structure, such as spacetime itself. In other words, the theory should be formulated in such a way that the geometry of spacetime is not predetermined or fixed, but rather emerges from the physical processes described by the theory.
The Correspondence Principle is a fundamental concept in physics, primarily associated with the transition from classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. It states that the behavior of quantum mechanical systems must converge to classical physics in the limit of large quantum numbers or when the system is described by macroscopic quantities. In essence, the Correspondence Principle asserts that any new theoretical framework (like quantum mechanics) should reproduce the results of an older, well-established theory (like classical mechanics) in situations where the older theory is applicable.
Critical realism is a philosophical approach that originated in the field of social science but has been applied more broadly, including in the philosophy of perception. It seeks to bridge the divide between the extremes of realism and idealism, maintaining that while the world exists independently of our perception, our understanding of it is always mediated by our perceptions, interpretations, and social contexts.
Subjective idealism is a philosophical doctrine asserting that reality is fundamentally mental and immaterial, primarily existing in the minds of individual perceivers. It posits that the only things we can be sure of are our own perceptions and experiences. Under this view, the external world does not have an independent existence apart from the consciousness that observes it.
"Epistemological Letters" is not a widely recognized term or publication in the field of philosophy or epistemology. It might refer to a specific series of writings, correspondences, or articles dealing with issues in epistemology, which is the study of knowledge—its nature, sources, limitations, and validity.
The philosophy of field theory is a rich and evolving area that intersects the fields of philosophy, physics, and mathematics. Its history can be traced through several key developments in both theoretical frameworks and philosophical inquiries. ### Early Development 1. **Classical Physics**: The concept of a field can find its roots in early discussions about force fields in physics. Notably, Isaac Newton’s work on gravitational forces laid a foundation for understanding interactions at a distance.
Superdeterminism is a concept in theoretical physics and philosophy that suggests all events in the universe, including the outcomes of quantum experiments and the choices made by observers, are predetermined by prior conditions. This idea challenges the conventional interpretation of quantum mechanics, particularly in relation to the phenomenon of entanglement and the apparent independence of measurement choices. In quantum mechanics, experiments often show correlations between entangled particles that seem to suggest a level of randomness in measurement outcomes.
Mentalism in psychology refers to the theoretical perspective that emphasizes the importance of mental processes in understanding behavior. It contrasts with behaviorism, which focuses primarily on observable actions and stimuli. Mentalism suggests that internal mental states—such as thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions—play a crucial role in influencing how individuals act and respond to their environment. In this framework, mental events are considered real phenomena that can help explain psychological functions.
The term "philosophers of psychology" refers to individuals who engage in the philosophical examination of psychological concepts, theories, and practices. This field of inquiry often explores the foundational issues related to the nature of the mind, consciousness, behavior, and the methods used in psychology. Key areas of interest include: 1. **Mind-Body Problem**: Philosophers investigate the relationship between mental states (thoughts, feelings, etc.) and physical states (brain activity, body).
"History of Science" is a scholarly journal that focuses on the study of the history of science, technology, and medicine. Established in 1963, it is peer-reviewed and publishes articles, book reviews, and other contributions that examine various aspects of the evolution of scientific thought, practices, and institutions across different cultures and time periods. The journal seeks to provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue among historians of science and scholars from related fields.
Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project
Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
Intro to OurBigBook
. Source. We have two killer features:
- topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculusArticles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
- a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
- a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.Figure 1. Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page. View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivativeVideo 2. OurBigBook Web topics demo. Source. - local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
- to OurBigBook.com to get awesome multi-user features like topics and likes
- as HTML files to a static website, which you can host yourself for free on many external providers like GitHub Pages, and remain in full control
Figure 3. Visual Studio Code extension installation.Figure 4. Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation.Figure 5. Web editor. You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.Video 3. Edit locally and publish demo. Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.Video 4. OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo. Source. - Infinitely deep tables of contents:
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact





