An introduction to the philosophy of language
M. Morris
Cambridge
Cambridge University Press
2007
Pp. v +326
ISBN 0-521-60311-0

Reviewed by Ko-Yin Sung, the University of Texas at San Antonio

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language by Michael Morris is a valuable resource for students studying linguistics and for readers who are interested in the nature of language. The book introduces the essential issues discussed in the philosophy of language, namely, how language relates to the world and to things in one’s mind, using little jargon. The book consists of 15 chapters that discuss language and its meaning; however, each chapter centers its focus on a theory or concept introduced in a seminal piece that has had major influence in the philosophy of language. The authors of these pieces include Frege, Russell, Kripke, Quine, Davidson, Austin, Grice, and Wittgenstein. The concepts or theories proposed by these scholars and discussed in An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language include sense and reference, definite descriptions, proper names, natural-kind terms, de re and de dicto necessity, propositional attitudes, truth-theoretical approaches to meaning, radical interpretation, indeterminacy of translation, speech acts, intentional theories of meaning, and skepticism about meaning.

In Chapter 1, Morris introduces Locke’s assumptions about the nature and function of language, in which the idea that "language is associated with things in the world" is the root of the assumptions. Chapters 2 to 9 discuss the theories and concepts proposed by different scholars that mostly contrast Locke’s world-oriented conception of language. For example, in Chapter 2 Morris disucsses how Frege’s notion of sense and reference counteracts the idea that language is world-oriented. Morris explains that, according to Frege, reference is the object that the expression refers to, while sense "contains the mode of presentation of the referent" (p. 35). In other words, the same reference can have different senses if different linguistic expressions are used to describe the reference. This cognitive aspect of meaning referred to as "Sense" by Frege explains how language is related to our minds in addition to things in the world. Another example of the scholars’ theories that opposes the idea of a world-oriented conception of language is Quine’s contexts of necessity in Chapter 6. Morris focuses on explaining Quine’s notion that "the nature of the world could only be discovered through experience" (p. 114), and that "necessity is always a feature of what we bring to the world, rather than of the world itself" (p. 114). To further explain this concept, Morris points out that people often use the "that" clause to express thoughts and feelings in certain contexts. Hence, components of language are more than the items in the world with which they relate.

Chapters 10 to 15 define linguistic meaning. In particular, Chapters 10 and 11 are concerned with the concept of words as signs, and that their meaning and usage are learnable by outsiders of a language. Morris mentions Davidson’s claim that linguistic meaning needs to account for the speakers’ knowledge. In other words, according to Davidson, linguistic meaning for a language is a statement of what the speakers of that language know. Chapters 12 and 13 deal with the role of language in people’s lives. In Chapter 12, Austin’s theory of speech acts is introduced. In Chapter 13, Morris explores Grice’s concept of linguistic meaning in which personal expressions reveal the content of what people intend to communicate. Chapter 14 focuses on Kripke’s idea that there is no evidence that people’s use of words has a specific meaning. In Chapter 15, Wittegenstein’s view on linguistic meaning is used to raise questions about the traditional assumptions on linguistic meaning.

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language provides readers with basic knowledge in the field of linguistics. The author, Michael Morris, selectively chooses to present in his book the essential theories and concepts proposed by influential scholars in order to make his readers aware of the current scholarly debate in the philosophy of language. In addition, Morris accommodates novice readers by giving concrete examples following the introduction of each theory or concept. At the end of the book, specific terminologies that may be new to novice readers are listed along with their definitions in the glossary. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language is an excellent book that I would recommend to any reader who would like to know about the philosophy and meaning of language from a scholarly perspective.