Reference and Computation
An Essay in Applied Philosophy of Language

A text which deals with two major problems in the study of language. First, how do we successfully refer to objects in conversation. Second, how can a computer be programmed to simulate this ability? The author outlines an answer to these questions.

This book deals with a major problem in the study of language: the problem of reference. The ease with which we refer to things in conversation is deceptive. Upon closer scrutiny, it turns out that we hardly ever tell each other explicitly what object we mean, although we expect our interlocutor to discern it. Amichai Kronfeld provides an answer to two questions associated with this: how do we successfully refer, and how can a computer be programmed to achieve this? Beginning with the major theories of reference, Dr Kronfeld provides a consistent philosophical view which is a synthesis of Frege's and Russell's semantic insights with Grice's and Searle's pragmatic theories. This leads to a set of guiding principles, which are then applied to a computational model of referring. The discussion is made accessible to readers from a number of backgrounds: in particular, students and researchers in the areas of computational linguistics, artificial intelligence and the philosophy of language will want to read this book.

List of figures
Foreword
Preface
1. Methods and scope
2. The descriptive approach
3. First steps
4. Referring intentions and goals
5. Conversationally relevant descriptions
6. Thoughts and objects
7. Computational models
References
Index.