Between Saying and Doing: Towards an Analytic Pragmatism

Between Saying and Doing presents philosopher Robert Brandom's systematic approach to connecting meaning and use in language. The work is based on his 2006 John Locke lectures at Oxford University. Brandom introduces a new method called "logical expressivism" to analyze the relationships between vocabularies - specifically between what we say and what we do. The text develops formal tools for mapping these complex linguistic and practical interconnections. The book addresses core questions in philosophy of language, logic, and pragmatism through detailed analysis of linguistic practices and their underlying normative structures. Technical concepts from formal semantics combine with insights from American pragmatist traditions. This work represents an ambitious attempt to bridge analytic and pragmatic approaches to meaning, while advancing a systematic theory of how vocabulary and practice relate. The philosophical framework has implications for understanding rationality, knowledge, and the nature of conceptual content.

Readers note this is a dense, technical philosophical work that requires significant background knowledge in both analytic philosophy and pragmatism. Philosophy students and academics find value in Brandom's systematic approach to connecting formal logic with practical reasoning. Likes: - Clear presentation of meaning-use analysis - Thorough exploration of Sellars and metalinguistic expression - Useful bridge between analytic and pragmatic traditions Dislikes: - Writing style described as "needlessly complex" by multiple readers - Heavy reliance on symbolic logic makes sections inaccessible - Some readers felt key arguments could be made more concisely Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (12 ratings) Amazon: No customer reviews available PhilPapers: Referenced in 354 citations One reader on PhilPapers noted: "Brandom provides important tools for understanding the relationship between saying and doing, but the presentation demands too much from readers without specialist knowledge in formal logic."

Making It Explicit by Robert Brandom This text establishes the philosophical groundwork for understanding language through social practices and inferential relationships that Between Saying and Doing builds upon.

Mind and World by John McDowell The book connects Kantian ideas about mind-world relationships to contemporary debates about meaning and experience, sharing Brandom's interest in the space of reasons.

From a Logical Point of View by W.V.O. Quine The essays examine meaning, reference, and logical truth through a naturalistic lens that influences Brandom's approach to pragmatics and semantics.

Truth and Method by Hans-Georg Gadamer The text explores how understanding and interpretation function in human practices, complementing Brandom's analysis of linguistic practices and meaning.

Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein This foundational work examines language games and rule-following in ways that prefigure Brandom's analysis of linguistic practices and implicit norms.

🔹 The book is based on Brandom's John Locke Lectures delivered at Oxford University in 2006, following in the footsteps of other influential philosophers like Saul Kripke and David Lewis. 🔹 Robert Brandom introduced the concept of "meaning-use diagrams" in this work, providing a visual tool for mapping relationships between vocabulary and practical abilities. 🔹 The book bridges the gap between analytical philosophy and pragmatism, two traditionally opposing schools of philosophical thought, by showing how they can complement each other. 🔹 Brandom's work draws significantly on Wilfrid Sellars' philosophy, particularly his critique of the "myth of the given" and his understanding of the relationship between meaning and use. 🔹 The text develops a new philosophical method called "semantic systematicity," which examines how different vocabularies (such as logical, modal, or normative) relate to specific practices of using them.