Books

This volume, originally published in Russian in 2012, is one of the few larger works on Nivkh (Gilyak), an underinvestigated endangered Paleosiberian language-isolate, that have appeared lately. It is a descriptive grammar based on extensive language data and supplemented with the authors’ experiments and subtle analysis, aimed at elucidating some moot points of the highly specific Nivkh syntax, and with quantitave data. It focuses on syntactic and semantic types of verbs and their aspectual and temporal characteristics, various groups of verbal grammatical morphemes, the use of finite and non-finite verb forms, and especially on numerous converbs, sentence types, word order, two-predicate constructions, relative clauses, direct and indirect speech, text structure and cohesion. The typological expertise and insights of V.P. Nedjalkov and the native intuitions of G.A. Otaina combine to add value to this volume. The book will be of interest to specialists in morphosyntax, typology, general linguistics and indigenous languages.

Charles S. Peirce (1839-1914) is een invloedrijke Amerikaanse wetenschapsfilosoof. Hij is de grondlegger het van semiotisch pragmatisme, een tegenhanger van het structuralisme van Ferdinand de Saussure.De filosofie van Peirce gaat er vanuit dat kennis over de werkelijkheid niet anders kan worden verkregen dan via tekens: de kenleer of semiotiek. Van daaruit onderzoekt hij hoe verschijnselen beschreven kunnen worden om de waarheid zo dicht mogelijk te benaderen: pragmatisme. Daarbij ontwikkelt hij een logica die de werkelijkheid beschrijft als een netwerk van relaties: semotisch pragmatisme.
In deze bundel introduceren Nederlanse filsosofen, theologen en literatuurwetenschappers het gedachtengoed van Peirce. Met bijdragen van J. F. Glastra van Loon, D. Nauta, H. van Driel, B. van Heusden, E. J. van Wolde en W. Staat.

Une phénoménologie de la quotidienneté révèle des moments de fracture esthétique. L'interruption du sublime engendre des instants d'allégresse et de bonheur, et confirme notre sentiment d'existence. L'aisthèsis quotidienne transcende de loin l'eidétique du regard et de la lumière; elle n'est comblée que par la synesthésie du goût et du toucher instaurant la fusion et la jonction. Le sublime du quotidien, tributaire de l'esthétique de Kant et de la sémiotique de Greimas est conçu comme l'éloge de la passion du beau. L'auteur réfléchit sur la possibilité d'une biographie située entièrement dans la quotidienneté.

This volume presents the main tenets of Sanctius’ linguistic theory and explores the questions raised by Robin Lakoff in her 1969 review of the Grammaire générale et raisonnée (Port Royal). Part I surveys earlier developments in the study of language, in particular the Graeco-Roman and Medieval traditions, the Renaissance period, and Judaeo-Arabic scholarship. Part II contains a synopsis in English of Sanctius’ Minerva, placing special emphasis on theoretical passages and illustrative data. Part III is devoted to Sanctius’ linguistic doctrine: (1) his philosophical approach to language analysis, (2) his notion of logical structure and rule, (3) his classification of the parts of speech, and (4) his basic semantic postulates.

“Schelling has undergone his philosophical education before the public” — so G. W. F. Hegel in criticism of the novel systematic projects which his philosophical ally and later rival F. W. J. Schelling successively made public. Today, however, Hegel’s derisive judgment can be seen not to hold: Instead, it is much rather the case that Schelling’s productivity expresses the genuine continuity of his thought. Moreover, his thought is attractive precisely because it embodies an inconclusive — perhaps the never-ending — search for an abiding philosophical orientation in an ever more complex world.
Schelling — zwischen Fichte und Hegel / Schelling — Between Fichte and Hegel: The title both emphasizes the singularity of Schelling’s thought and recognizes its profound relation to that of his contemporaries. This volume, which connects the latest work in Fichte-, Hegel- and Schelling-studies, contains original contributions in English and German on Schelling’s philosophy from international group of researchers. “Schelling hat seine philosophische Ausbildung vor dem Publikum gemacht,” urteilte G. W. F. Hegel und tadelte damit die Folge von immer neuen philosophischen Entwürfen, mit denen Schelling vor die Öffentlichkeit trat. Aus heutiger Sicht muî Hegels Urteil in verschiedener Hinsicht revidiert werden: Einerseits ist das Schaffen Schellings durch klare Kontinuität geprägt; andererseits ist sein Produktionsprozeî unter einer modernen Perspektive von hoher Attraktivität, zeigt er doch sinnfällig die unabgeschlossene, vielleicht unabschlieîbare Suche nach einer philosophischen Orientierung in einer immer komplexer werdenden Welt.
Schelling — zwischen Fichte und Hegel / Schelling — Between Fichte and Hegel: Mit diesem Titel ist die Aufgabe verknüpft, die Singularität des Schellingschen Denkens herauszustellen sowie die vielfältigen Beziehungen zu seinen Zeitgenossen angemessen zu würdigen. Das Buch schlägt eine Brücke zwischen den neuesten Arbeiten der Fichte-, Hegel- und Schellingforschung. Dabei bleibt es stets fokussiert auf die Philosophie Schellings. Es konnte für dieses Buch eine internationale Autorenschaft gewonnen werden. Alle Beiträge — teils in deutscher, teils in englischer Sprache — sind speziell für diesen Band konzipiert.

The relationship between science and democracy has become a much-debated issue. In recent years, we have even seen an exponential growth in literature on the subject. No doubt, the interest has partly been justified by the concern of public opinion over the technological repercussions of scientific research. Moreover, there are scientific theories that, if they were accepted, would allegedly imply the adoption of policies that have wide social consequences, as well as a rethinking of deeply-rooted habits on the part of the citizens. These considerations alone allow us to understand the reasons for the interest in the, at times troublesome, relationships between science and public opinion which characterize democratic societies.

Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments is not just about what takes place in literary classrooms. Settings do have a strong influence on student learning both directly and indirectly. These spaces may include the home, the workplace, science centers, libraries, that is, contexts that entail diverse social, physical, psychological, and pedagogical variables that facilitate learning, for example, by grouping desks in specific ways, utilizing audio, visual, and digital technologies. Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments puts together a series of empirical research studies on the different locations of teaching and learning. These studies represent literary learning environment throughout the world, including Brazil, the USA, China, Canada, Japan and several European countries such as the Netherlands, Ukraine, the UK and Malta. The studies reported describe quantitative and/or qualitative research and cover pre-primary, primary, high school, college, university, and lifelong learning environments. They refresh the enigmatic ambience that often surrounds the teaching and learning that goes on in literary studies and offer transparent, useful and replicable research and practice. Students and teachers alike are encouraged to take them and own them.

Scope and Specificity is an investigation of quantifier scope interaction in natural language, with special reference to English and Chinese. In particular, it is concerned with semantic properties of NPs. Quantifier scope plays an important role in current theories of syntax and semantics. However, most studies of quantifier scope are only concerned with the behavior of a small number of quantifiers, e.g. ‘every’, ‘some’, ‘all’. As a result, the generalizations made on the basis of these quantifiers often do not hold when a wider range of quantifiers is considered. In this study a wide variety of NP types are examined with respect to how they interact with other NPs. The key concept explored is that of semantic scope dependency/independence. NPs are considered according to two properties: whether they can induce scope-dependency and whether they can be scope-dependent. By observing how in basic sentences NPs behave with respect to the two properties, the author presents a picture of quantifier scope much different from what has been assumed in the literature.