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, social philosophy, 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

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

Pornographic speech

Lewis on fiction

The nature of belief

Kripke on belief ascription

Conceptual analysis: the case of gender and race

Ameliorative analysis

Metasemantics

EXERCISE

Here's a sample essay that I produced by running an ad hoc essay prompt (inspired by the notes on linguistic convention) through a recent version of ChatGPT. What mark would you give it? Let's discuss its virtues and shortcomings in tutorial.