Philosophy of Language I
The course presents the basics of contemporary analytical philosophy of language.
The course introduces the student to the basic distinction between intension and extension, Frege's related distinction between meaning and reference, the distinction between analytically and synthetically true sentences, the idea that truth conditions form part of a sentence's meaning, and the principle of compositionality.
Registration
Before the start of the course, an email is sent out to all admitted students, with information and instructions. Admitted students are expected to register themselves (web registration).
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Course structure
More about the course content
Against the background of Frege's and Russell's classical theories about the semantic properties of different types of linguistic expressions, Kripke's theory of names and rigid designators is introduced. We address problems surrounding the semantics of modal statements, with possible world semantics as an important tool for clarifying these and other semantic difficulties, such as Kaplan's theory of context dependence, Grice's theory of implicatures and Searle's speech act theory. Finally, more general philosophical theories of language – notably Grice’s, Lewis’ and Davidson’s – are discussed, which in one way or another try to analyze the concept of linguistic meaning.
Learning platform: Reading instructions, detailed course planning, etc. will be posted on the course's Athena page. Admitted students who have activated their student account and have been registered on the course automatically become participants on the course's Athena page.
Teacher autumn semester 2024: Anders Schoubye
Form of teaching: The teaching will be conducted in the form of lectures and discussions. See syllabus for attendance requirements.
Examination: The course is examined with a home assignment and a four-hour classroom exam.
Expected learning outcomes, as well as information about the grading scale: See the syllabus.
Grading criteria: Found on the course's Athena page before the start of the course.
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Schedule
The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course. -
Course literature
Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course. -
Course reports
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Contact
Director of studies: Mattias Högström mattias.hogstrom@philosophy.su.se
Study councelling studievagledning@philosophy.su.se
Teacher: Anders Schoubye anders.schoubye@philosophy.su.se
