Donald Davidson: A Short Introduction by Kathrin Glüer

David Fraser is introduced to Donald Davidson’s thinking by Kathrin Glüer.

Imagine for a moment that you are a linguist sent out into the furthest reaches of a remote jungle. Here you discover an unknown tribe that speaks a unique and uncatalogued language that you name ‘Jungle’. Jungle is so radically different from other languages that the only way you can make sense of it is by studying the physical and verbal behavior of the tribe members and observing the circumstances in which they speak. The goal you set for yourself is to produce a theory of interpretation based only on the observable data you gather, which will allow you to understand any utterance a tribe member makes.

Kathrin Glüer, a professor of theoretical philosophy at Stockholm University, uses this imagined scenario to illustrate facets of Donald Davidson’s thought in Donald Davidson: A Short Introduction.

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