Natural History of Negation by Laurence R. Horn

From the Publisher

This book offers a unique synthesis of past and current work on the structure, meaning, and use of negation and negative expressions, a topic that has engaged thinkers from Aristotle and the Buddha to Freud and Chomsky. Horn's masterful study melds a review of scholarship in philosophy, psychology, and linguistics with original research, providing a full picture of negation in natural language and thought; this new edition adds a comprehensive preface and bibliography, surveying research since the book's original publication.

Booknews

An exquisite natural history of this unique cephalopod by a paleontologist (who overmodestly professes limited zoological training). Ward has focused on topics relevant to his discipline: those that throw light on evolution. He treats morphology, the buoyancy systems, growth, ecology, reproduction, distribution of species, and in 40 pages relates the foregoing to paleontology. On the form, function, and meaning of negation in natural language. Horn (linguistics, Yale) reviews the substantial literature on this subject from Plato and Aristotle onward and offers his views on how recent research (including his own) should bear on our understanding of this construction. Horn's focus is the primitive or derivative status of negative statements with respect to their positive counterparts. A careful reconstruction of historical arguments from both Eastern and Western traditions. Available in cloth, $75.00 (0-226-3537-0). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents