Prashant Parikh Bücher

This work provides an in-depth exploration of meaning through innovative approaches in situation theory and game theory, focusing on the rationality of interacting agents. It examines a broad spectrum of linguistic phenomena, including ambiguity, vagueness, and semantic change, while defining key concepts like communication and speaker meaning. The author offers critiques of established theories and connects insights from various linguistic fields, such as psycholinguistics and natural language processing, to enhance understanding of meaning and reference in communication.

Combining situation theory and game theory, this doctoral dissertation explores philosophical semantics, appealing to philosophers, linguists, computer scientists, and cognitive scientists. It introduces foundational concepts that later influenced the development of a new research field, sparking interest in communication and meaning. Parikh's work lays the groundwork for ongoing exploration of how these mathematical frameworks can address complex issues in understanding language and inference.

***WINNER OF A NAUTILUS 2018 SILVER MEDAL BOOK AWARD*** From Vitruvius in the 1st century BCE on, there has been an attempt to understand how architecture works, especially in its poetic aspect but also in its basic functions. Design can encourage us to walk, to experience community, to imagine new ways of being, and can affect countless other choices we make that shape our health and happiness. Using the ideas of rational choice theory and behavioral economics, Choice Architecture shows how behavior, design, and wellness are deeply interconnected. As active agents, we choose our responses to the architectural meanings we encounter based on our perception of our individual contexts. The book offers a way to approach the design of spaces for human flourishing and explains in rich detail how the potential of the built environment to influence our well-being can be realized.