Undergraduate Course: Philosophy of Language (PHIL10005)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Philosophy |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
http://www.philosophy.ed.ac.uk |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Philosophers sometimes distinguish between semantic theories and meta-semantic theories. On one useful way of unpacking that distinction, semantic theories provide interpretations of meaningful units of natural languages which fix the truth-conditions of sentences as uttered in a given context. Such theories are typically recursive, in order to make sense of the compositionality of meaning. On the other hand, meta-semantic theories are usefully understood as theories of that in virtue of which meaningful units of natural languages have the meanings they do. Whereas a semantic theory tells us, roughly, what a word or sentence means, a meta-semantic theory tells us what it is for a word or sentence to mean this or that. This focus of this class will be on meta-semantics. We discuss and investigate some of the leading meta-semantic theories and try to assess their relative plausibility. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 20 |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Seminar | | 1-11 | | | | 14:00 - 15:50 | |
| First Class |
Week 1, Thursday, 14:00 - 15:50, Zone: Central. Room G.06, Dugald Stewart Building. |
| No Exam Information |
|
| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 6 |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Seminar | | 1-11 | | | | 14:00 - 15:50 | |
| First Class |
Week 1, Thursday, 14:00 - 15:50, Zone: Central. Room G.06, Dugald Stewart Building. |
| No Exam Information |
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 possibly oral presentation in class. |
Assessment Information
| The course will be assessed by one 1500 word essay due roughly half way through the semester and a final 2000 word essay due at the end of the semester. The first essay will make up 40% of the assessment and the second essay will be worth 60% of the final assessment |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Michael Ridge
Tel: (0131 6)50 3657
Email: M.Ridge@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Richards
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: sue.richards@ed.ac.uk |
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