The book sets out to lay the foundation for a unified theory ofcognitive science. The authors argue than human cognition has agoal: we pay attention only to information which seems to usrelevant. To communicate is to claim someone′s attention, and henceto imply that the information communicated is relevant. Thus, asingle property – relevance is seen as the key to humancommunication and cognition.
A second important feature of the book is its approach to thestudy of reasoning. It elucidates the role of background orcontextual information in spontaneous inference, and shows thatnon–demonstrative inference processes can be fruitfully analysed asa form of suitably constrained guesswork. It directly challengesrecent claims that human central thought processes are likely toremain a mystery for some time to come.
Thirdly, the authors offer new insight into language andliterature, radically revising current view on the nature and goalsof verbal comprehension, and in particular on metaphor, irony,style, speech acts, presupposition and implicature.
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Cognitive science is very often marred by demarcationdisputes and protectionist attitudes which have little or norational basis. Occasionally, however, it works as it should and abook appears which reaches across the bread and butter lines whichinstitutional life forces upon us. Relevance is, I think, such abook. Alan Leslie, Mind and Language.
The repercussions of Relevance are likely in thelong run to be great felt first, perhaps, in the pragmaticsof conversation, the philosophy of language, and reader–responsecriticism, but also in many other activities: construction ofmemory models, pedagogy, machine learning and (doubtless)advertising and propaganda. Alastair Fowler,London Review of Books
I recommend this book to people interested inlinguistics, philosophy of language and pragmatics, and,definitely, to people who cultivate an interest insemiotics. Umberto Eco,L Expresso
This is probably the best book you ll ever read oncommunication. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Dierdre Wilson is Reader in Linguistics at UniversityCollege London, and the author of Presuppositions andNon–Truth–Conditional Semantics and Modern Linguistics: TheResults of Chomsky′s Revolution.
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Book Description Hardback. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good-. Dust jacket slightly creased at top-edge of front panel, more so at head of rear w/ small splits in each corners, a suggestion of rubbing on both panels; Green paper boards, gilt lettering bright; Pages generally clean, previous owner's signature on title page; Binding tight. ; Cloth; 6.25 x 9.25"; 279 pages. Seller Inventory # 52103
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