Meaning Diminished examines the complex relationship between semantic analysis and metaphysical inquiry. Kenneth A. Taylor argues that we should expect linguistic and conceptual analysis of natural language to yield far less metaphysical insight into what there is - and the nature of whatthere is - than many philosophers have imagined. Taking a strong stand against the so-called linguistic turn in philosophy, Taylor contends that philosophers as diverse as Kant, with his Transcendental Idealism, Frege, with his aspirational Platonism, Carnap with his distinction between internal andexternal questions, and Strawson, with his descriptive metaphysics, have placed too much confidence in the ability of linguistic and conceptual analysis to achieve deep insight into matters of ultimate metaphysics. He urges philosophers who seek such insight to turn away from the interrogation oflanguage and concepts and back to the more direct interrogation of reality itself. In doing so, he maps out the way forward toward a metaphysically modest semantics, in which semantics carries less weighty metaphysical burdens, and toward a revisionary and naturalistic metaphysics, untethered to thea priori analysis of ordinary language.
Meaning Diminished examines the complex relationship between semantic analysis and metaphysical inquiry. Kenneth A. Taylor argues that we should expect linguistic and conceptual analysis of natural language to yield far less metaphysical insight into what there is - and the nature of what there is - than many philosophers have imagined. Taking a strong stand against the so-called linguistic turn in philosophy, Taylor contends that philosophers as diverse as Kant, with his Transcendental Idealism, Frege, with his aspirational Platonism, Carnap with his distinction between internal and external questions, and Strawson, with his descriptive metaphysics, have placed too much confidence in the ability of linguistic and conceptual analysis to achieve deep insight into matters of ultimate metaphysics. He urges philosophers who seek such insight to turn away from the interrogation of language and concepts and back to the more direct interrogation of reality itself. In doing so, he maps out the way forward toward a metaphysically modest semantics, in which semantics carries less weighty metaphysical burdens, and toward a revisionary and naturalistic metaphysics, untethered to the a priori analysis of ordinary language.
John Birchensha (c.1605-?1681) is chiefly remembered for the impression that his theories about music made on the mathematicians, natural philosophers and virtuosi of the Royal Society in the 1660s and 1670s, and for inventing a system that he claimed would enable even those without practical experience of music to learn to compose in a short time by means of 'a few easy, certain, and perfect Rules'-his most famous composition pupil being Samuel Pepys in 1662. His great aim was to publish a treatise on music in its philosophical, mathematical and practical aspects (which would have included a definitive summary of his rules of composition), entitled Syntagma music Subscriptions for this book were invited in 1672-3, and it was due to be published by March 1675; but it never appeared, and no final manuscript of it survives. Consequently knowledge about his work has hitherto remained extremely sketchy. Recent research, however, has brought to light a number of manuscripts which allow us at last to form a more complete view of Birchensha's ideas. Almost none of this material has been previously published. The new items include an autograph treatise of c.1664 ('A Compendious Discourse of the Principles of the Practicall & Mathematicall Partes of Musick') which Birchensha presented to the natural philosopher Robert Boyle, and which covers concisely much of the ground that he intended to cover in Syntagma music a detailed synopsis for Syntagma music hich he prepared for a meeting of the Royal Society in February 1676; and an autograph notebook (now in Brussels) containing his six rules of composition with music examples, presumably written for a pupil. Bringing all this material together in a single volume will allow scholars to see how Birchensha's rules and theories developed over a period of fifteen years, and to gain at least a flavour of the lost Syntagma music
This book introduces path-breaking applications of concepts from mathematical topology to music-theory topics including harmony, chord progressions, rhythm, and music classification. Contributions address topics of voice leading, Tonnetze (maps of notes and chords), and automatic music classification. Focusing on some geometrical and topological aspects of the representation and formalisation of musical structures and processes, the book covers topological features of voice-leading geometries in the most recent advances in this mathematical approach to representing how chords are connected through the motion of voices, leading to analytically useful simplified models of high-dimensional spaces; It generalizes the idea of a Tonnetz, a geometrical map of tones or chords, and shows how topological aspects of these maps can correspond to many concepts from music theory. The resulting framework embeds the chord maps of neo-Riemannian theory in continuous spaces that relate chords of different sizes and includes extensions of this approach to rhythm theory. It further introduces an application of topology to automatic music classification, drawing upon both static topological representations and time-series evolution, showing how static and dynamic features of music interact as features of musical style. This volume will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of music, music analyses, music composition, mathematical music theory, computational musicology, and music informatics. It was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Mathematics and Music.
Finally—an intuitive, single-source standardization for naming guitar chords in the 21st century! A honing of guitar theory as a subcategory of music theory. Commonsense approach to all things guitar chord, including how to label alternate chord voicings. New concepts, including natural harmonics chords, unison chords, and octaval chords. A massive Instructional Glossary with clear and precise definitions, benefiting both guitarists and music theorists alike. Appendices containing 747 graphical guitar chord boxes and definitions for several guitar tunings: • Standard • Open Major A/E • Open Major G/D • Drop D • Double Drop D • Bruce Palmer Modal “Band of Witches” sample song sheet. Procedures for registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Introduction to U.S. copyright law’s fair use doctrine, including a comparison of mechanical and sync licenses. Presented in an easy-to-read, connect-the-dots manner. An absolute must-read for the guitarist wanting to transcribe new sound-creations into guitar chords. The only textbook needed for a Progressive Guitar Theory 105 course. Though geared toward the needs of a seasoned guitarist, this book contains a wealth of information that will benefit anyone, from the casual campfire-strumming enthusiast to avid music theorists looking for a greater understanding of the challenges facing non-sight-reading guitar players. Book Review: "A soup-to-nuts guide for guitarists looking for a comprehensive way to name and notate chords. Music theory and practicality are sometimes at odds. For example, theory dictates that a chord must have three or more notes, but as debut author Davis explains in his introduction, guitarists play two-note formations frequently, which they must then label as chords when transcribing. As one gets deeper into theory, the conflicts can get more complicated in terms of where a “root” note might lay in a chord sequence, or how a chord might fit in a particular scale. Davis seeks to solve that quandary with a practical standard for working guitarists. It’s a complicated task, and this book provides a lot of context for readers to consider, explaining pitch, tuning, scales, and intervals, and even providing information on copyrighting musical works. Along the way, he takes a lot of advanced ideas into account, such as unaltered nonextended chords, unaltered extended chords, suspended nonextended chords, and the like. Chances are that any guitarist who’s attracted by the title of this book already knows enough to follow these theoretical aspects. The author offers a process to make these concepts clearer, [to Gatekeeper: my rewrite attends to the rest of the sentence & the next one] but it’s not a basic, numbered list of steps. Readers with no education in theory may have to read passages several times to put the level of detail into proper perspective [to Gatekeeper: this ends the portion of the Review I "fixed."]. A weekend warrior who’s happy banging out basic G-C-D or E-A-D progressions, for instance, won’t find much use for the theory, but those looking to move forward will find value in the first, basic chapters and the massive appendices, which feature definitions of everything from Travis picking to truss rods. For guitarists who write, the most useful aspect of this book may be the chord guide, which includes voicings for both standard and alternate tunings. A complex manual for guitar players who want to keep learning new things." -- Kirkus Reviews
Who is behind the disappearance of an auditor's daughter during Christmas week. Why are reprehensible shady characters operating charities in desolate places. Murder lies at the end of a CPA's investigation of people helping poor African Americans resulting in his losing all that is important to him.
"I’m still marveling at not only the artistry of this book, the playful erudition of it, the sheer entertainment of the storytelling, but also the life (harrowing and joyous) and place that inspired it. If that life wouldn't create a writer, I don't know what would. The details are terrific . . . Dreesen has captured a time and a place perfectly."—Ladette Randolph, Editor-In-Chief, Ploughshares “And what I’m about to tell you can’t be told straight, so needs to be contained by form, for the tale is messy and meandering, if not downright weedy and windy as all the characters who blew through our lives back then and who we had to bend into, grimacing and hunched over, holding hands so as not to lose one another, sieve.” In his imaginative memoir-in-verse, Robert Dreesen captures the stop-and-start rhythm of growing up in his family’s 24-hour truck stop and drinkin’ and dancin’ bar alongside the Pan-American Highway in northeastern Nebraska. In a life that can be described as picaresque, Kenny, Rose, and their eight kids make their way through a world rich with farmers and ranchers, writers and painters, drunks and ne’er-do-wells, horses and dogs, imagined visits from poet-sages, insufficient money (but not poverty), fights, siblings, honor, booze, and the Missouri River.
Political and civil discourse in the United States is characterized by “Truth Decay,” defined as increasing disagreement about facts, a blurring of the line between opinion and fact, an increase in the relative volume of opinion compared with fact, and lowered trust in formerly respected sources of factual information. This report explores the causes and wide-ranging consequences of Truth Decay and proposes strategies for further action.
