Module PHL2018 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2018: Philosophy of Language
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
The module seeks to familiarise you with the central place that philosophy of language occupies in contemporary analytic philosophy, with the influential positions that have been adopted by major figures in the field, and with the key points of the debates between them. You will gain a thorough overview of the philosophy of language, and the grounding necessary for more advanced study in analytic philosophy.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Develop an understanding of the subject matter, concerns, and methodology of philosophy of language. 2. Critically analyse the notions of meaning and reference. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Understand the central position of philosophy of language in contemporary analytic philosophy. 4. Apply the tools of conceptual and linguistic analysis in all areas of philosophy. 5. Evaluate the claims made by other philosophical disciplines and traditions which hinge on theories of meaning or language. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. Communicate complex ideas in clear and precise written and verbal form. 7. Construct, evaluate, and criticise arguments. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Week 1: Introduction to the Module; the various senses of “meaning”; the nature of analytic
philosophy; the “linguistic turn” and its motivations.
Week 2: Gottlob Frege on Sense and Reference
Reading: Frege, “On Sense and Nominatum”; Frege, “The Thought: A Logical Inquiry”
Week 3: Bertrand Russell and the Theory of Definite Descriptions
Reading: Russell, “Descriptions”; John Searle, “Proper Names and Intentionality”
Week 4: Causal Theories of Reference; Kripke and Putnam
Reading: Saul Kripke, “Naming and Necessity” (extracts); Gareth Evans, “The Causal Theory
of Names”; Hilary Putnam, Reason, Truth and History, ch.1
Week 5: Verificationism and Meaning; Logical Positivism and Dummett
Reading: C.G. Hempel, “Empiricist Criteria of Cognitive Significance”; A.J. Ayer, Language,
Truth, and Logic (Penguin), chs.1&3
Week 6: Scepticism about Meaning 1; Quine on Analyticity and Meaning Holism
Reading: W.V.O. Quine, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism”; Quine, “Translation and Meaning”
Week 7: Scepticism about Meaning 2; “Kripkenstein” on Rule-following
Reading: Kripke, “On Rules and Private Language”; Ludwig Wittgensein, Philosophical
Investigations §§ 138-242; Marie McGinn, Wittgenstein and the Philosophical
Investigations,ch.3.
Week 8: Meaning as Intention 1; Speech Acts
Reading: J.L. Austin, “Performative Utterances”; Searle, “A Taxonomy of Illocutionary Acts”
Week 9: Meaning as Intention 2; Gricean Implicature
Reading: Paul Grice, “Logic and Conversation”
Week 10: Meaning and Truth; Davidson and Tarski
Reading: Donald Davidson, “Truth and Meaning”; Davidson, “Belief and the Basis of
Meaning”
Week 11: Meaning and Metaphor
Reading: Davidson, “What Metaphors Mean”; Roger White, The Structure of Metaphor,
extracts.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 22 | Eleven two-hour lecture/discussions. |
| Guided Independent Study | 40 | Assigned readings associated with |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Preparation of Assigned Essay |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Private Study for Exam |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
ELE
Lecture slides and any readings not found in the Martinich volume will be available on the module’s ELE page.
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
The majority of the course readings may be found in A. P. Martinich (2010), The Philosophy of Language (International 5th Edition). An e-copy of this text will be available through the library.
Two useful textbooks are William Lycan (2008), Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction and Alexander Miller (2007), Philosophy of Language.
