Philosophy of Language II
Syllabus 2019-2020
6 credits
María de Ponte & Kepa Korta
MAIN GOALS
- To deepen into some of the main topics and debates on contemporary philosophy of language
- To improve the student’s critical skills of philosophical reading and writing
1. Indexicality in Thought and Language
Mandatory reading: John Perry, “The problem of the essential indexical.”
Complementary readings:
Frege, “Thought”
Lewis, “Attitudes de dictoand de se”
Stalnaker, “Indexical belief”
2. Semantic reference and speaker’s reference
Mandatory reading: Saul Kripke, “Semantic reference and speaker’s reference”
Complementary readings:
Kaplan, TBA
Donnellan, "Speaker reference, descriptions, and anaphora"
3. Natural kinds
Mandatory reading: Putnam, “The meaning of `meaning’”
Complementary readings:
Haslanger and Saul, “Philosophical analysis and social kinds”
Kripke, Naming and Necessity
4. Semantics and Pragmatics
Mandatory reading: Carston, “Implicature, explicature, and truth-theoretic semantics”
Complementary readings:
Recanati, “The pragmatics of what is said!
Bach, “Conversational impliciture”
Bibliography
Assignments
a) Oral presentation of one of the papers selected as complementary reading.
b) 1 short paper (1200-1600 words) discussing one claim or argument made in one (or more) of the readings (November 14th).
c) An oral presentation of the paper.
d) Written exam.
Evaluation
Drafts. We are happy to talk over your ideas with you as often as you like, but we don’t read drafts of papers.
Handing things in:
Papers should be emailed to [email protected]and [email protected]
The subject line of the email should be in the form
Phil of Lang II/YOUR NAME/PAPER
Put your name on the paper.
Number the pages.
Double spaced, 12 pt. type
Attach the paper in Word (.doc or .docx)
- To deepen into some of the main topics and debates on contemporary philosophy of language
- To improve the student’s critical skills of philosophical reading and writing
1. Indexicality in Thought and Language
Mandatory reading: John Perry, “The problem of the essential indexical.”
Complementary readings:
Frege, “Thought”
Lewis, “Attitudes de dictoand de se”
Stalnaker, “Indexical belief”
2. Semantic reference and speaker’s reference
Mandatory reading: Saul Kripke, “Semantic reference and speaker’s reference”
Complementary readings:
Kaplan, TBA
Donnellan, "Speaker reference, descriptions, and anaphora"
3. Natural kinds
Mandatory reading: Putnam, “The meaning of `meaning’”
Complementary readings:
Haslanger and Saul, “Philosophical analysis and social kinds”
Kripke, Naming and Necessity
4. Semantics and Pragmatics
Mandatory reading: Carston, “Implicature, explicature, and truth-theoretic semantics”
Complementary readings:
Recanati, “The pragmatics of what is said!
Bach, “Conversational impliciture”
Bibliography
- Lycan, W. (1999). Philosophy of Language. London: Routledge.
- Martinich, A. P. (ed.) (1990): The Philosophy of Language. Oxford U. Press.
- Taylor, K. (1998), Truth and meaning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Assignments
a) Oral presentation of one of the papers selected as complementary reading.
b) 1 short paper (1200-1600 words) discussing one claim or argument made in one (or more) of the readings (November 14th).
c) An oral presentation of the paper.
d) Written exam.
Evaluation
- The final grade will be based on a)-c) above (50%) and d) the written exam (%50).
- Attendance (min. 80% of the lectures) is compulsory for continuing evaluation.
Drafts. We are happy to talk over your ideas with you as often as you like, but we don’t read drafts of papers.
Handing things in:
Papers should be emailed to [email protected]and [email protected]
The subject line of the email should be in the form
Phil of Lang II/YOUR NAME/PAPER
Put your name on the paper.
Number the pages.
Double spaced, 12 pt. type
Attach the paper in Word (.doc or .docx)
