Syllabus: Philosophy of Language

Philosophy 134: Philosophy of Language

Autumn 2011
TuTh 2:00-3:20pm
Warren Lecture Hall 2207

Instructor: Jonathan Cohen (joncohen AT aardvark DOT ucsd DOT edu)

office: (858) 534 6812
Office hours: Tu10-11:30 in H&SS 8072.

Overview

This course is an introduction to the philosophy of language. Philosophy of language concerns quite a large number of topics, including meaning, truth, content, reference, the syntax and semantics of various linguistic constructions, the nature and role of presupposition in communicative interchange, speech acts, figurative uses of language, questions about the ontology of languages, the epistemology of language understanding and language learning, the mental/psychological basis of linguistic understanding and use, and so on. Since we can't possibly study all of these topics, we'll focus our energy on topics that are most central in recent philosophical work on language, and that have far-reaching consequences for other topics in philosophy of language and other areas of philosophy.

In particular, we'll be concentrating on philosophical attempts to understand reference and meaning.

Course Requirements

Those taking the class for credit are expected to hand in three short (5-7) page papers. There will be one assignment corresponding to each of our four course segments. Only the final paper is mandatory for everyone, since it is your final exam (see below). Apart from that one, you'll be asked to write two of the other three papers (your choice which two). Putting it all together, then, you'll write three papers for the course. I shall hand out a list of topics for the papers before each is due. Grades will be determined on the basis of the three papers, and I'll use class participation as a way of deciding borderline cases.

As remarked above, the paper corresponding to the fourth segment will count as your final exam: it will be due on 8 December 2011 at 6:00pm (this is the officially assigned day and time of exam week), so that you'll have plenty of time after the end of official course instruction to complete it.

There will be no midterm for the course.

Required Text

There is one required text for the course: Peter Ludlow's Readings in the Philosophy of Language (MIT Press, 1997). This book is, I'm told, available in the UCSD bookstore.

Tentative Schedule

This schedule is tentative in both its content and its timing; I reserve the right to add, subtract, or reschedule items as the course progresses. Readings marked with a '*' are available on electronic reserve at Giesel Library; all others are in the Ludlow anthology.
Note that we will not meet for class on Thursday 29 September in observance of Rosh Hashana.

Segment 1 (weeks 1-3): Quine and Logical Empiricism

Hempel, "Empiricist Criteria of Cognitive Significance: Problems and Changes"*

Quine, "Two Dogmas of Empiricism"*

Grice and Strawson, "In Defense of a Dogma"*

Carnap, "Quine on Analyticity"*

Segment 2 (weeks 4-6): Frege on Sense and Reference

Frege, "On Sense and Reference"

Frege, "The Thought"

Segment 3 (weeks 7-8): Definite Descriptions

Russell, "On Denoting"*

Russell, "Descriptions"

Strawson, "On Referring"

Donellan, "Reference and Definite Descriptions"

Kripke, "Speaker's Reference and Semantic Reference"

Segment 4 (weeks 9-10): Causal and Description Theories of Reference

Searle, "Proper Names"

Kripke, "Naming and Necessity"

Advice

Writing philosophy is difficult, and doing it well takes time and practice. As this is an upper level philosophy course, I assume you've had some practice already, and you'll get more of it soon! In addition, you may find it useful to consult some of Jim Pryor's excellent tips on philosophical writing. Obviously, these materials are not designed for our writing assignments in particular, but the advice given is generally sound and applicable.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of starting your writing early. The process of writing -- even if only starting with a half-baked idea -- will help you crystalize your thoughts and get clear on what you do and don't understand. That, in turn, will tell you what you need to do next to refine your ideas. Also, starting early allows you the (necessary) luxury of setting out, reconsidering, revising, and developing lines of thought.

And if there's something in the course that you don't understand, come see me about it. Getting the issue cleared up sooner rather than later means that it won't create other problems for you, and will allow you more time to enjoy the warm glow of understanding. This is why God invented office hours. You've paid your tuition, so don't let material go over your head; come and get the education you deserve!

	Segment 1 (weeks 1-3): Quine and Logical Empiricism Hempel, "Empiricist Criteria of Cognitive Significance: Problems and Changes"* Quine, "Two Dogmas of Empiricism"* Grice and Strawson, "In Defense of a Dogma"* Carnap, "Quine on Analyticity"*
	Segment 2 (weeks 4-6): Frege on Sense and Reference Frege, "On Sense and Reference" Frege, "The Thought"
	Segment 3 (weeks 7-8): Definite Descriptions Russell, "On Denoting"* Russell, "Descriptions" Strawson, "On Referring" Donellan, "Reference and Definite Descriptions" Kripke, "Speaker's Reference and Semantic Reference"
	Segment 4 (weeks 9-10): Causal and Description Theories of Reference Searle, "Proper Names" Kripke, "Naming and Necessity"