Philosophy of Language
Winter 2005
- This course is an advanced introduction to contemporary issues
in the philosophy of
language. Students investigate the natures of reference, meaning, and truth while reading the
work of Frege, Wittgenstein, Russell, Kripke, Lewis, Putnam, and others. They address questions
such as: What is it for a sign or a bit of language to be meaningful? What is it for words to
represent or identify something? Is there a distinction between the meaning of a term and what
it refers to? What is it for a statement to be truthful? What is a language, and what is it to
know a language? How can you believe that Superman flies while believing that Clark Kent
doesn't? Prerequisite(s): one course in philosophy. Recommended background: Philosophy 195. Open
to first-year students.
Texts:
- Martinich (2001), The Philosophy of Language, (OUP).
- Devitt and Sterelny (1999), Language and Reality, (MIT).