Recommendations from our site
“This is a fun book, but also a serious book. Rebecca Roache is very much a philosopher, and this is really a book on the philosophy of language. It actually draws upon some of the ideas of J.L. Austin, who we’ve already mentioned, the ordinary language philosopher who talked about performative utterances, acts which are performed by saying words—so, for instance, launching a ship by saying ‘I launch this ship’. Or the words ‘I do’ in a marriage ceremony. These are linguistic acts. And one of the themes in Rebecca’s book is how linguistic acts are performed when people utter swear words in different contexts.” Read more...
The Best Philosophy Books of 2023
Nigel Warburton, Philosopher
Our most recommended books
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J. L. Austin: Philosopher and D-Day Intelligence Officer
by Mark Rowe -
Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope
by Sarah Bakewell -
The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic
by Jean-Manuel Roubineau, Malcolm DeBevoise & Phillip Mitsis -
Parfit: A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality
by David Edmonds -
For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun
by Rebecca Roache -
Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy
by Robin Waterfield
