Ways of Communicating

by D.H. Mellor (Editor)

Ways of Communicating is a stimulating exploration of the single most powerful force that gives humankind its control over the natural world--the communication among us. So integral a part of everyday life as to be taken for granted, yet so multi-faceted as to be notoriously slippery to describe and analyze, the world of communication is treated here from the standpoint of the arts quite as much as the sciences. Speech and body language, fiction and music, communication by neural networks within the brain and by satellite around the globe, all are considered together to give a fascinating view of this elusive aspect of our common humanity. Contributors include P.N. Johnson-Laird on The Nature of Communication; Horace Barlow on The Brain; Patrick Bateson on Animals; Noam Chomsky on Language; D.H. Mellor on Truth; David Lodge on The Novel; Jonathan Miller on Communication without Words; Alexander Goehr on Music; and John Alvey on Telecommunications.

172 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 1991

About the author

David Hugh Mellor, also known as Hugh Mellor and usually cited as D. H. Mellor, is a British philosopher. He is a former Professor of Philosophy and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, now Professor Emeritus, of Cambridge University.
Mellor was born in London. After studying chemical engineering at university, he took up philosophy.

His primary work is metaphysics, although his philosophical interests include philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, probability, time and causation, laws of nature and properties, and decision theory. Mellor was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College from 1971 to 2005. As a professor, he was the subject of extensive media coverage as the main opponent of the conferment of an honorary degree in philosophy to the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.

He was president of the Aristotelian Society from 1992 to 1993, a member of the Humanist Philosophers' Group of the British Humanist Association and Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He was a Fellow of the British Academy between 1983 and 2008. In retirement, Mellor now holds the title of Emeritus Professor.

Mellor was also an amateur theatre actor.