Very Short Introductions: Brilliant Sharp Inspiring Our ability to find meaning in things
is one of the most important aspects of human life. But it is also one of the most mysterious.
Where does meaning come from? What sorts of things have meaning? And how do we grasp the
meaning others want to convey? This Very Short Introduction is shaped by exploring possible
answers to these questions. Human societies have one particularly important device for
expressing and sharing meaning: language. Since our words are paradigm examples of things which
have meaning in this book Emma Borg and Sarah Fisher use meaning in language as a case study
for exploring meaning more generally. They focus on three possible sources for word meaning:
things in the world things in the mind and social practices exploring the key approaches
thinkers have put forward in each of these arenas. Finally they end by looking at some
concrete applications of the ideas and approaches introduced in the book. ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in
almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new
subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
