Course Description
Topics such as formal and ordinary languages, meaning, reference, truth, definition, analyticity, ambiguity, metaphor, symbolism, and the uses of language.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Longer term-paper, possibly an in-class presentation, and higher standards for all assigned work.
Athena Title
Philosophy of Language
Prerequisite
[(PHIL 2500 or PHIL 2500H or PHIL 2500E) and any 3000-level PHIL course] or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course lays emphasis on developing analytic skills and techniques and on facilitating clear thinking about complex issues. The student is expected to be able to construct and evaluate the major arguments for and against the positions on or approaches to the problems being studied. Communicating effectively through writing and speech, relevant use of the computer, and critical thinking are all stressed. During the course the student should be improving in each of these skill areas.
Topical Outline
This course is a survey of some of the central topics in contemporary philosophy of language, such as: I. Formal and ordinary languages II. Meaning III. Truth IV. Analyticity V. Definition VI. Reference VII. Proper names and descriptions VIII. Propositional attitudes and belief reports IX. Ambiguity X. Metaphor XI. Symbolism XII. Speech acts
Syllabus