Y3: Language

This is a survey course in the philosophy of language. As the Course Guide indicates, it covers a wide range of topics. The aim is to better understand, among other things, the way in which the modern science of linguistic meaning got its start. Along the way, we'll see how the philosophy of language influences work in the philosophy of mind, epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of mathematics.

NOTES

Language as a convention 

Language as a uniquely human biological endowment 

The state of play before 1892 

Frege on number and number terms 

Frege from 1884 to 1892

Fregean senses

Frege on truth, thought, and context sensitivity

From Frege to Russell

Russell's theory of definite descriptions

From Russell to Strawson (to Donnellan)

Strawon on meaning, reference, and truth (plus Donnellan and Kripke)

The paradox of generic acquisition

Generics and morally objectionable thought

Context sensitivity and generic generality

Kripke on names and necessity, Part I

Kripke on names and necessity, Part II

Kripke on reference and existence, Part I

Kripke on reference and existence, Part II

Gricean pragmatics, Part I

Gricean pragmatics, Part II

Lewis on conversational scorekeeping

The nature of belief

Kripke on belief ascription