The Limits Of My Language

"Moving, poetic, cogent and honest." -- Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon An intimate study of depression that draws on personal experience and a deep knowledge of philosophy—perfect for fans of Maggie Nelson and Leslie Jamison The Limits of My Language is both a razor-sharp analysis of depression and a steadfast search for the things great and small -- from philosophy and art to walking a dog or sitting quietly with a cat -- that make our lives worth living. Much has been written about the treatment of depression, but relatively little about its meaning. In this strikingly original book, Eva Meijer weaves her own experiences and the insights of thinkers from Freud to Foucault and Woolf into a moving and incisive evocation of the condition. Depression is more than a chemical problem—the questions that occupy someone with depression are fundamentally human, and they touch on other philosophical questions that concern language, autonomy, power relations, loneliness, and the relationship between body and mind. But this book-length essay is also about the other side, such as animals, trees, others, art: about consolation, and hope, and the things that can give life meaning. The Limits of My Language explores how depression can make us grow out of shape over time, like a twisted tree, how we can sometimes remould ourselves in conversation with others, and how to move on from our darkest thoughts.

The limit of language is one of the most pervasive notions found in Wittgenstein’s work, both in his early Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and his later writings. Moreover, the idea of a limit of language is intimately related to important scholarly debates on Wittgenstein’s philosophy, such as the debate between the so-called traditional and resolute interpretations, Wittgenstein’s stance on transcendental idealism, and the philosophical import of Wittgenstein’s latest work On Certainty. This collection includes thirteen original essays that provide a comprehensive overview of the various ways in which Wittgenstein appeals to the limit of language at different stages of his philosophical development. The essays connect the idea of a limit of language to the most important themes discussed by Wittgenstein—his conception of logic and grammar, the method of philosophy, the nature of the subject, and the foundations of knowledge—as well as his views on ethics, aesthetics, and religion. The essays also relate Wittgenstein’s thought to his contemporaries, including Carnap, Frege, Heidegger, Levinas, and Moore.

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus may be the most important book of philosophy written during the twentieth century. Wittgenstein's writing style is clear succinct and accessible. Bertrand Russell claimed that "I cannot see any point on which it is wrong. But to have constructed a theory of logic which is not at any point obviously wrong is to have achieved a work of extraordinary difficulty and importance." Required ready for anyone interested in philosophy.

Religion Within the Limits of Language Alone provides a critical examination of the Wittgensteinian philosophers of religion who claim that the word 'God' cannot be understood as referring to a metaphysical being who may or may not exist. McCutcheon traces the arguments offered by these philosophers of religion back to Wittgenstein's own criticisms of speculative metaphysics, arguing that in its religious usage the concept of God does not fall under Wittgenstein's anti-metaphysical gaze. In presenting a detailed account of Wittgenstein's own philosophical method, including his criticisms of metaphysics, McCutcheon shows that it is possible to accept Wittgenstein's criticisms of metaphysics whilst retaining the metaphysical content of religious language. This book offers a fresh understanding of Wittgenstein's philosophical method and a new critique of religious discourse for those studying philosophy and religious studies.

From Sources of the Self to A Secular Age, Charles Taylor has shown how we create ways of being, as individuals and as a society. Here, he demonstrates that language is at the center of this generative process. Language does not merely describe; it constitutes meaning, and the shared practice of speech shapes human experience.

Foreword to the Edition of 1977 Foreword to the 1994 Edition Editorial Note Note by Translator Culture and Value A Poem Notes Appendix:List of Sources List of Sources, Arranged Alphanumerically Index of Beginnings of Remarks Subject Index Index of Names.

Master verbalist Richard Lederer, America's "Wizard of Idiom" (Denver Post), presents a love letter to the most glorious of human achievements... Welcome to Richard Lederer's beguiling celebration of language -- of our ability to utter, write, and receive words. No purists need stop here. Mr. Lederer is no linguistic sheriff organizing posses to hunt down and string up language offenders. Instead, join him "In Praise of English," and discover why the tongue described in Shakespeare's day as "of small reatch" has become the most widely spoken language in history: English never rejects a word because of race, creed, or national origin. Did you know that jukebox comes from Gullah and canoe from Haitian Creole? Many of our greatest writers have invented words and bequeathed new expressions to our eveyday conversations. Can you imagine making up almost ten percent of our written vocabulary? Scholars now know that William Shakespeare did just that! He also points out the pitfalls and pratfalls of English. If a man mans a station, what does a woman do? In the "The Department of Redundancy Department," "Is English Prejudiced?" and other essays, Richard Lederer urges us not to abandon that which makes us human: the capacity to distinguish, discriminate, compare, and evaluate.

The result of a conference on language and related cognitive processes in animals, this book brings together scientists working on language and communication, reviews research done on language in apes and dolphins, and places this work in a larger perspective of animal communication and cognition. The conference convened an international group of distinguished scientists interested in exploring the neurological, cognitive, social, and behavioral aspects of communication in animals. A broad spectrum of perspectives was represented, including naturalistic investigations of animals in their natural habitat as well as strictly controlled laboratory investigations. Similarly, a broad range of species was described including rats, parrots, monkeys, apes, dolphins, and humans. New methodologies and perspectives are continuously emerging that allow consideration of issues that previously could not be resolved. Emerging technology such as video equipment and advanced database systems allow one to exhaustively record in an accessible format the evidence on which scientific conclusions must be based. Investigation of animal language and communication is a small, but vigorously exciting area of scientific investigation as the chapters in this volume clearly attest.