{"product_id":"meaningful-games-isbn-9780262549189","title":"Meaningful Games","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn engaging introduction to the use of game theory to study lingistic meaning.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eMeaningful Games\u003c\/i\u003e, Robin Clark explains in an accessible manner the usefulness of game theory in thinking about a wide range of issues in linguistics. Clark argues that we use grammar strategically to signal our intended meanings: our choices as speaker are conditioned by what choices the hearer will make interpreting what we say. Game theory—according to which the outcome of a decision depends on the choices of others—provides a formal system that allows us to develop theories about the kind of decision making that is crucial to understanding linguistic behavior.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClark argues the only way to understand meaning is to grapple with its social nature—that it is the social that gives content to our mental lives. Game theory gives us a framework for working out these ideas. The resulting theory of use will allow us to account for many aspects of linguistic meaning, and the grammar itself can be simplified. The results are nevertheless precise and subject to empirical testing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMeaningful Games\u003c\/i\u003e offers an engaging and accessible introduction to game theory and the study of linguistic meaning. No knowledge of mathematics beyond simple algebra is required; formal definitions appear in special boxes outside the main text. The book includes an extended argument in favor of the social basis of meaning; a brief introduction to game theory, with a focus on coordination games and cooperation; discussions of common knowledge and games of partial information; models of games for pronouns and politeness; and the development of a system of social coordination of reference.Preface xi \u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments xvii \u003cbr\u003eI THE SOCIAL SIDE OF MEANING \u003cbr\u003e1 Platonic Heaven 3 \u003cbr\u003eThe Puzzle of Reference 3 \u003cbr\u003eUse, Mention, and Truth 4\u003cbr\u003e The Language of Thought 7 \u003cbr\u003eConcepts, Mentalese, and the Informational Universe 10 \u003cbr\u003eLanguage and the World 12 \u003cbr\u003ePlatonic Heaven in a Box 13 \u003cbr\u003eInferences and Mentalese 16 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 18 \u003cbr\u003e2 My Fall from Platonic Heaven 21 \u003cbr\u003ePhrase Structure Grammar 21 \u003cbr\u003eGrammar and Compositionality 23 \u003cbr\u003eThinking and Computing 25 \u003cbr\u003eThe Heaven in Your Head 28 \u003cbr\u003eBrains in SUVs 30 \u003cbr\u003eSymbols and Proofs 31\u003cbr\u003e Into the Chinese Room 36 \u003cbr\u003eThe Social Nature of Intention 38 \u003cbr\u003eThe Excesses of Youth 39 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 41 \u003cbr\u003e3 Meaning and the Social Contract 43 \u003cbr\u003eChoice and Meaning 43 \u003cbr\u003eInternal Predicates and External Behavior 44 \u003cbr\u003ePublic Knowledge 46 \u003cbr\u003eThe Economics of Meaning 50 \u003cbr\u003ePhysical Computation and Social Computation 53 \u003cbr\u003eThe Sociolinguistics of Meaning 55 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 58 \u003cbr\u003eII GAMES AND TRUTH \u003cbr\u003e4 A Primer on Games 63 \u003cbr\u003eThe Cake Game 69 \u003cbr\u003eSequential Games and Backward Induction 75 \u003cbr\u003eThe Holmes Moriarty Game 80 \u003cbr\u003e‘‘Ideal Free’’ Ducks and Mixed Strategy Nash Equilibria 85 \u003cbr\u003eMixed Strategy Nash Equilibria and Language Variation 88 \u003cbr\u003eCoordination Games 89 \u003cbr\u003eThe Prisoner’s Dilemma 93 \u003cbr\u003eCooperation: The Stag Hunt 98 \u003cbr\u003eEvolutionary Games 106 \u003cbr\u003eCase Marking Systems 112 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 122 \u003cbr\u003e5 A Game Logic for Natural Language 125 \u003cbr\u003eThe Tale of Abe´lard and Eloı¨se 128 \u003cbr\u003eSyntax 129 \u003cbr\u003eGames and Models 137 \u003cbr\u003eAtomic Sentences 137 \u003cbr\u003eNegation 140 \u003cbr\u003eLogical Connectives 142 \u003cbr\u003eThe Aristotelian Square of Opposition 150 \u003cbr\u003eProspects 172 \u003cbr\u003eAmbiguity 172 \u003cbr\u003eMonotonicity 173 \u003cbr\u003eCompositionality 174 \u003cbr\u003eLimitations 176 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 177 \u003cbr\u003eIII GAMES AND THE WORLD \u003cbr\u003e6 Common Knowledge 181 \u003cbr\u003eCoordinated Attack 182 \u003cbr\u003eDefinite Descriptions and the Mutual Knowledge Paradox 183 \u003cbr\u003eCommon Knowledge and Bounded Rationality 191 \u003cbr\u003eMiscommunication 199 \u003cbr\u003ePresuppositions and Accommodation 204 \u003cbr\u003eReconciling the Assumptions 212\u003cbr\u003e Further Reading 212 \u003cbr\u003e7 Lexical Games 215 \u003cbr\u003eGames for Finding Words 215 \u003cbr\u003eOrderly Communication and Utility 221 \u003cbr\u003ePlaying the Odds 226 \u003cbr\u003eClues from the Context 229 \u003cbr\u003eBack to Descriptions and Common Knowledge 232 \u003cbr\u003eEquilibrium Selection and Implicature 234 \u003cbr\u003eDown the Garden Path 237 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 242 \u003cbr\u003e8 Two Examples: Pronouns and Politeness 245 \u003cbr\u003eDiscourse Pronouns 245 \u003cbr\u003ePoliteness, Power, and Implicature 263 \u003cbr\u003eOn Game Theoretic Analysis 279\u003cbr\u003e Further Reading 280 \u003cbr\u003e9 The Social Ecology of Meaning 283 \u003cbr\u003eGames and Prototypes 285 \u003cbr\u003eMetrics, Central Tendencies, and Focal Points 289 \u003cbr\u003eSemantic Landscapes and Meaning Niches 301 \u003cbr\u003eSemantic Hierarchies and Defaults 309 \u003cbr\u003eHomophones and Polysemy 314 \u003cbr\u003eInto the Artificial World 321 \u003cbr\u003eFurther Reading 327\u003cbr\u003e Notes 329\u003cbr\u003e References 333 \u003cbr\u003eIndex 345Robin Clark is Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301044506853,"sku":"NP9780262549189","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262549189.jpg?v=1767732477","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/meaningful-games-isbn-9780262549189","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}