A comprehensive introduction to the forms and various philosophical theories of communication, this volume is composed of three sections focusing on the production of culturally relevant communication, the interpretation of communicative messages, and the effects of communication on both speaker and listener. Each section draws on the work of key philosophers—from Foucault to Derrida to Habermas—and presents a detailed critical overview of the work in relation to the field of communication. Exhaustively researched, this book presents an up-to-date overview of thinking on communication theory in one inclusive volume.

Claude Mangion is a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Malta.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Saussure on the Structure of Communication
Chapter 2: Peirce on the Life of Signs
Chapter 3: Foucault on Discourse and Power
Chapter 4: Eco on Culture and Communication
Chapter 5: Derrida and the Deconstruction of Communication
Chapter 6: Gadamer on Communication as Hermeneutics
Chapter 7: Wittgenstein on Language as a Form of Life
Chapter 8: J.L. Austin and Speech Act Theory
Chapter 9: P. Grice and the Theory of Conversation
Chapter 10: Searle and the Intentionality of Speech Acts
Chapter 11: Habermas on Communication and Social Theory
Chapter 12: Halliday on Language and Social Semiotics

Conclusion
Bibliography