An engaging introduction to the use of game theory to study lingistic meaning.
An engaging introduction to the use of game theory to study lingistic meaning.
In Meaningful Games, 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.
Clark 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.
Meaningful Games 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.
By:
Robin Clark (Associate Professor University of Pennsylvania)
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780262549189
ISBN 10: 0262549182
Pages: 376
Publication Date: 19 September 2023
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface xi Acknowledgments xvii I THE SOCIAL SIDE OF MEANING 1 Platonic Heaven 3 The Puzzle of Reference 3 Use, Mention, and Truth 4 The Language of Thought 7 Concepts, Mentalese, and the Informational Universe 10 Language and the World 12 Platonic Heaven in a Box 13 Inferences and Mentalese 16 Further Reading 18 2 My Fall from Platonic Heaven 21 Phrase Structure Grammar 21 Grammar and Compositionality 23 Thinking and Computing 25 The Heaven in Your Head 28 Brains in SUVs 30 Symbols and Proofs 31 Into the Chinese Room 36 The Social Nature of Intention 38 The Excesses of Youth 39 Further Reading 41 3 Meaning and the Social Contract 43 Choice and Meaning 43 Internal Predicates and External Behavior 44 Public Knowledge 46 The Economics of Meaning 50 Physical Computation and Social Computation 53 The Sociolinguistics of Meaning 55 Further Reading 58 II GAMES AND TRUTH 4 A Primer on Games 63 The Cake Game 69 Sequential Games and Backward Induction 75 The Holmes Moriarty Game 80 ‘‘Ideal Free’’ Ducks and Mixed Strategy Nash Equilibria 85 Mixed Strategy Nash Equilibria and Language Variation 88 Coordination Games 89 The Prisoner’s Dilemma 93 Cooperation: The Stag Hunt 98 Evolutionary Games 106 Case Marking Systems 112 Further Reading 122 5 A Game Logic for Natural Language 125 The Tale of Abe´lard and Eloı¨se 128 Syntax 129 Games and Models 137 Atomic Sentences 137 Negation 140 Logical Connectives 142 The Aristotelian Square of Opposition 150 Prospects 172 Ambiguity 172 Monotonicity 173 Compositionality 174 Limitations 176 Further Reading 177 III GAMES AND THE WORLD 6 Common Knowledge 181 Coordinated Attack 182 Definite Descriptions and the Mutual Knowledge Paradox 183 Common Knowledge and Bounded Rationality 191 Miscommunication 199 Presuppositions and Accommodation 204 Reconciling the Assumptions 212 Further Reading 212 7 Lexical Games 215 Games for Finding Words 215 Orderly Communication and Utility 221 Playing the Odds 226 Clues from the Context 229 Back to Descriptions and Common Knowledge 232 Equilibrium Selection and Implicature 234 Down the Garden Path 237 Further Reading 242 8 Two Examples: Pronouns and Politeness 245 Discourse Pronouns 245 Politeness, Power, and Implicature 263 On Game Theoretic Analysis 279 Further Reading 280 9 The Social Ecology of Meaning 283 Games and Prototypes 285 Metrics, Central Tendencies, and Focal Points 289 Semantic Landscapes and Meaning Niches 301 Semantic Hierarchies and Defaults 309 Homophones and Polysemy 314 Into the Artificial World 321 Further Reading 327 Notes 329 References 333 Index 345
Robin Clark is Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania.
