Philosophy of Language (PP0074)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : PPL-3-POLANG-PH

Meaning, belief and world: The course will begin with a detailed, critical examination of Frege's notion of sense, and then move on to look at recent attempts to accommodate indexicals and propositional attitudes within a Fregean framework. The second part of the course will examine different theoretical positions concerning the focal topics of reference, truth and meaning: What determines the extension of a natural kind term? Does the meaning of a sentence consist in its truth-conditions? Can meaning be understood in terms of communicative intentions? What kind of facts, if any, are there about meaning?

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Philosophy 2A (PP0033) or Philosophy 2B (PP0034)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Philosophy, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 12 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
09/01/2007	16:10	18:00	Room 7.18, David Hume Tower	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	16:10	18:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The coursework involves close and critical analysis of various historical and current views on central issues in the philosophy of language. Students are asked to read, critically assess and discuss some of the most important texts in these fields. Students are encouraged to develop their skills in individual research through the writing of essays, and to develop their critical, analytic and communication skills through informal discussion and oral presentations in tutorial groups.

Assessment Information

Assessment will be by 2-hour examination in the June diet. Senior Honours students may opt to write a long essay (approximately 5000 words) in lieu of the final exam.