'[T]he most important early American work on semantics'

Johnson, A.B. [Alexander Bryan]

A Treatise on Language: or the Relation which Words Bear to Things, in Four Parts. [The Philosophy of Human Knowledge]

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1836. First Thus. Hard Cover. Near Fine / No Jacket. Item #2325566

First thus. Rebound in modern brown cloth with paper spine label. Lightly foxed throughout, 1/2 inch chip from top corner of last text page and first page of bound in publisher catalog.

xxxvi, [34]-273, 32 pp. 8vo. A significantly expanded edition of the work first published in 1828 as The Philosophy of Human Knowledge; or, A Treatise on Language. David Rynin called this 'the most important early American work on semantics, and sees Johnson's thought echoed in Wittgenstein's positions on truth, questions, and the functionality of language. A significant and influential precursor to logical positivism. Included are a preface by the author, an introductory lecture, and the four parts referenced in the title: Of Language with Reference to Existences which are External of Man; Of Language with Reference to Phenomena Internal of Man; Of Language with Reference to the Relation which Words Bear to Each Other; Of Language with Reference to Some of the Uses to which We Apply It.

Price: $500.00