Module PHL2018 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2018: Philosophy of Language
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 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.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Class discussion | Weekly | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
50 | 50 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-7 | Written feedback |
Examination | 50 | 2 hours | 1-7 | Written feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay (2000 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment Period |
Examination | Exam (2 hours) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |