Donald Davidson: Meaning, Truth, Language, and Reality

by Ernest Lepore, Kirk Ludwig

Ernest Lepore and Kirk Ludwig present the definitive critical exposition of the philosophical system of Donald Davidson (1917-2003). Davidson's ideas had a deep and broad influence in the central areas of philosophy; he presented them in brilliant essays over four decades, but never set out explicitly the overarching scheme in which they all have their place. Lepore's and Ludwig's book will therefore be the key work, besides Davidson's own, for understanding one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century.

Genres: Philosophy

446 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Dr. Ernest Lepore is the author of numerous books and papers in the philosophy of language, philosophical logic, metaphysics and philosophy of mind.

Reviews

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good, comprehensive account of Davidson's approach to meaning and truth. I read the first half, which explains his use of Tarski's theory of truth as a theory of meaning for natural language. The second half is on radical translation and Davidson's triangulation business. The first half contains an intelligible explanation of how the different things Davidson says he's up to in different places fit together.

There's a companion volume that deals with technical issues in Davidsonian semantics.