Reconceiving Experience

John T. Kearns is Professor of Philosophy at State University of New York at Buffalo. He has also written The Principles of Deductive Logic and Using Language: The Structures of Speech Acts, both published by SUNY Press; and Deductive Logic, A Programed Introduction. He is also editor of the SUNY Press publication series in Logic and Language.

"Most impressive is the author's skill in creating an original theory of experience, language, thought, and action. The theory is comprehensive, detailed, well-articulated, and well-motivated; its relevance to both traditional and recently-discovered philosophical problems is evident; and the author makes illuminating use of it to address (if not fully solve) these problems. The author's presentation is clear, well-organized, and philosophically and logically sophisticated. I found it, indeed, fascinating, stimulating, provocative." — Vere Chappell, University of Massachusetts"As a logician, I was fascinated by this book. Many of the problems the author addresses, especially those related to modalities are ones I have been thinking about myself. I like the author's approach and find myself agreeing with many of his solutions. This book makes an important contribution to the theory of experience, thought, and language." — Kathleen Johnson Wu, The University of Alabama

• Introduction 1. Descartes' Problem 2. The Larger Problem: Sensing and Thinking 3. The Larger Problem: Descartes' Best Efforts 4. The Empiricist Response 5. Acting Intentionally 6. Learning to Use Language: Getting Started 7. Learning to Use Language: Gaining Proficiency 8. Learning to Use Language: Theoretical Issues 9. Representing: The Fundamentals 10. Representing: Logical Differences between The Two Stages 11. Representing: Transcending Identifying-Stage Limitations 12. Knowledge and Certainty 13. A Solution References Index