R.B. Barnesphilosopher and cosmologist
The Monographs and the Dictionaries

Books

The Monographs

Cover of The Prior Grammar by R.B. Barnes
The Prior Grammar · R.B. Barnes
First book

The Prior Grammar

#1 New Release in Metaphysics & Cognitive Psychology

Two essays on the mind before language arrives. The Godhead Position examines the anatomy of moral sight: why observing another's conduct places us somewhere we did not choose to stand. The Superimposition follows Hitchcock and Sophocles into the held state in which two incompatible realities remain fully alive in a single mind.

ContentsThe Godhead Position · The Superimposition
PublisherIron Mirror
ISBN979-8-9961454-0-9
Cite: Barnes, R.B. The Prior Grammar. Iron Mirror, 2026.
Cover of Plastic Symbolism by R.B. Barnes: red and white flowing threads on black
Plastic Symbolism · R.B. Barnes
Second book

Plastic Symbolism

Twelve chapters. The book recovers the operation Freud named plastische Wortdarstellung and restores priority to Herbert Silberer. It demonstrates the conversion of meaning into bodily material across trauma, ideology, art, and the sacred.

It began as an essay of the same name, on the Substack.

ChaptersTwelve
PublisherIron Mirror
PublicationJuly 2026
Cite: Barnes, R.B. Plastic Symbolism: How the Mind Makes Meaning Material. Iron Mirror, 2026.
Amazon link at publication

The Dictionaries

Reference works
Cover of Vocabula Barnesiana by R.B. Barnes: engraved bone lettering on black
Vocabula Barnesiana · R.B. Barnes
First dictionary

Vocabula Barnesiana

A Dictionary of Coined and Rare English

A dictionary in two halves. The first is 673 words built from Latin and Greek for meanings English has no word for. The second is 1,262 English words that fell out of use, with their sources and, where one exists, the date of the earliest known use. 1,935 entries, 747 of them carrying a quotation from a named author.

PublisherIron Mirror
EditionFirst edition
PublishedHardback 2 August 2026 · Paperback 3 August 2026
Format6 x 9 inches · 506 pages
Cite: Barnes, R.B. Vocabula Barnesiana: A Dictionary of Coined and Rare English. Iron Mirror, 2026.

For Children

Philosophers for Kids

Epictetus for Kids. An illustrated introduction to the Stoic: a boy whose name meant Bought, a leg, an order from the emperor, and a clay lamp. Complete and free on the Substack, beginning with chapters one and two. A collected edition is forthcoming.

Signed Copies

The author signs and ships a limited number of copies himself. The store opens soon; subscribers hear first.