Meaning and Reference (Oxford Readings in Philosophy)

Part of the "Oxford Readings in Philosophy" series, this volume presents a selection of the major writings in the debate on the nature of meaning and reference which started 100 years ago with Frege's essay "On Sense and Reference". The aim of this series is to bring together important recent writings in major areas of philosophical inquiry, selected from a wide variety of sources, mostly periodicals, which may not be conveniantly available to the university student or the general reader. The editor of each volume contributes an introductory essay on the items chosen, and on the questions with which they deal. Meaning and reference is a crucial topic in the philosophy of language, studied on all philosophy courses. Students are likely to write a series of essays on it, tracing the debate from Frege and Russell to the present. The 14 essays included comprise all the basic reading that the student will need. A.W. Moore's preparation of the volume is informed by his own teaching - his introduction guides the reader around the topic, puts the essays in context and shows how they relate to each other. His bibliography provides a thematic and critical guide to further reading.