John L. Austin was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the theory of speech acts. Austin pointed out that we use language to do things as well as to assert things, and that the utterance of a statement like I promise to do so-and-so is best understood as doing something - making a promise - rather than making an assertion about anything. Hence the name of one of his best-known works How to Do Things with Words. Austin, in providing his theory of speech acts, makes a significant challenge to the philosophy of language, far beyond merely elucidating a class of morphological sentence forms that function to do what they name. Austin's work ultimately suggests that all speech and all utterance is the doing of something with words and signs, challenging a metaphysics of language that would posit denotative, propositional assertion as the essence of language and meaning.

2018 Reprint of 1962 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. Reprint of the First Edition. John L. Austin was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the theory of speech acts. Austin pointed out that we use language to do things as well as to assert things, and that the utterance of a statement like I promise to do so-and-so is best understood as doing something -- making a promise -- rather than making an assertion about anything. Hence the name of one of his best-known works How to Do Things with Words. Austin, in providing his theory of speech acts, makes a significant challenge to the philosophy of language, far beyond merely elucidating a class of morphological sentence forms that function to do what they name. Austin's work ultimately suggests that all speech and all utterance is the doing of something with words and signs, challenging a metaphysics of language that would posit denotative, propositional assertion as the essence of language and meaning.

This collection of papers showcases the work of J. L. Austin, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Austin's ideas on language, sense, and speech acts have had a profound impact on the field of philosophy and continue to be studied and debated today.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

John L. Austin was one of the leading philosophers of the twentieth century. The William James Lectures presented Austin's conclusions in the field to which he directed his main efforts on a wide variety of philosophical problems. These talks became the classic How to Do Things with Words.

For this second edition, the editors have returned to Austin's original lecture notes, amending the printed text where it seemed necessary. Students will find the new text clearer, and, at the same time, more faithful to the actual lectures. An appendix contains literal transcriptions of a number of marginal notes made by Austin but not included in the text. Comparison of the text with these annotations provides new dimensions to the study of Austin's work.

This collection of papers showcases the work of J. L. Austin, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Austin's ideas on language, sense, and speech acts have had a profound impact on the field of philosophy and continue to be studied and debated today.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Domenico was the name taken by a rabbi and doctor from Safed in Palestine on his conversion to catholicism in Italy in 1593. Previously, for some ten years, he had served as third physician to the Ottoman sultan Murad III (1574-95). In 1611 Domenico wrote or, more probably, dictated his Relatione della gran Citta di Constantinopli. This is not just a topographical description of the city, but also an account of its inhabitants and the regulations governing their lives, of the Ottoman palace, of how Murad III spent his time, and of the principles and daily practices of Islam.
This is the first translation of Domenico's account into English. The book begins with an introduction (pp. i-xxvii) on Domenico himself and the historical context of his sojourn in the Ottoman imperial city. The translation of his Relazione (pp. 1-55) is followed by a detailed commentary (pp. 57-137) amplifying points made in the text, and three appendices (pp. 139-52) on related sources.