Philosophy of Language
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Philosophy 271: The Philosophy of Language
Fall 2003
Instructor: Whit Schonbein
Office: Skinner Hall, 217C
Email: [email protected]
Office Telephone: 538-2387
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 3-5; Wednesdays, 3-4; or by appointment.
Books
Ludlow, Readings in the Philosophy of Language, 1st edition. (required)
Lycan, Philosophy of Language, 1st edition. (recommended)
Course Requirements
The final grade is a function of points received for three components – informal writing,
formal writing, and a test – weighted as follows:
Informal writing: 20%
Formal Paper #1: 20%
Formal Paper #2: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
Informal Writing: The goal of informal writing is to organize your thoughts so as to
remember or better understand something. Examples include writing the very first draft
of a paper, or summarizing for your own purposes an argument found in some book or
article. Beginning on September 11th, you will be asked to hand in a bit of informal
writing once per week, due during the Thursday meeting. These should be around a page
or two in length (although if you feel inspired, longer is fine), and preferably typed and
double-spaced. Also, please do not submit it via email. The writing will not be evaluated
with respect to grammar, structure, style, etc. You will receive up to 3 points for each
informal writing assignment. If mountain day should happen to fall on a Thursday, no
informal writing is due.
Formal Writing: The goal of formal writing is to convey some idea or set of ideas to an
audience in a clear and understandable manner. Thus the two instances of formal writing
will be graded with respect to grammar, style, structure, and, most of all, quality of
argument presented. All formal papers will be peer-reviewed, i.e., another student will
read and comment on a draft of your paper, and you will revise it in light of these
comments prior to handing in a final draft. The first paper is to be 5-7 pages long, the
second 7-10.
Tests: There will be a final test. It will consist of ‘factual’ questions, usually involving
short essay answers. They are designed to assess the degree to which you have
understood the positions and arguments discussed in class. Since it is a take-home exam,
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short essays will be graded on grammar and style, but again, the most important aspect is
their content.
Accessing files online
The course website is located at:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~wschonbe/courses/phil-lang/index.html
Handouts will be posted as links on the course page. In order to access copyrighted
materials, you will need the following username and password:
Username: guest
Password: language
The name and password are case sensitive. If you have any problems, email me.
Miscellaneous Issues
If you have questions concerning the grading of a paper or exam, please bring them to my
attention within 2 weeks of the day the assignment was returned.
The standard procedures regarding plagiarism, cheating, conduct unbecoming of an
honorable person, etc., are to be adhered to.
Due dates are final – there is no opportunity to hand in informal or formal writing late.
There is no ‘extra credit’ or ‘makeup’ work.
Assignments will not be accepted through email.
Philosophy of Language
Schedule
Several notes on the schedule:
1. The schedule is subject to revision as the course progresses.
2. Readings should be done prior to the class meeting so that everyone has some
idea of what we are talking about.
3. Readings marked with an (H) will be made available online (see below).
Readings marked with (Lu) are to be found in the Ludlow volume. Readings
prefaced with an (O) are optional.
1. September 4th: Introduction
2. September 9th: Tools of the trade: A brief introduction to linguistics and logic.
No readings for today.
Part I: Reference
3. September 11th: Definite Descriptions I
Frege, On Sense and Reference (Lu)
4. September 16th: Definite Descriptions II
Russell, Descriptions (Lu)
5. September 18th: Definite Descriptions III
Strawson, On referring (Lu)
(O) Donellan, Reference and definite description (Lu)
(O) Russell, Mr. Strawson on referring (H)
6. September 23rd: Proper Names
Kripke, Lecture II of Naming and Necessity (H)
(O) Searle, Proper names (Lu)
Possible topics for first paper provided
7. September 25th: Proper Names continued…with a bit of reference, too.
Evans, The causal theory of names (Lu)
8. September 30th: Reference II
Continuing discussion on Kripke and Evans.
9. October 7th:
Putnam, Meaning and reference (H)
10. October 9th:
Locke, On Words (H)
Rough draft of 1st formal paper due for peer review.
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11. October 14th.
Fall Break – no class meeting
12. October 16th
Frege, The Thought (Lu)
Final draft of first formal paper due.
13. October 21st
Propositional Theories, &
Wittgenstein, Excerpts from The Blue and Brown Books (Lu)
Fake midterm handed out1
14. October 23rd
Wittgenstein continued (in particular, his discussion of what it is to follow a rule).
15. October 30th
Hempel, Empiricist criteria of cognitive significance (H)
16. November 4th
Quine, Translation and meaning (Lu)
NOTE: BELOW THIS POINT ONLY DUE DATES AND HOLIDAYS ARE
LISTED. Consult the original syllabus for a listing of what we will (probably) be
reading and in what order.
17. November 25th: Linguistic Relativity
Second formal paper rough draft due for peer review.
18. November 27th: No Class – Thanksgiving
19. December 9th:
Second formal paper final draft due.
Final exam made available, to be handed in any time during exam period.
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Fake, because it will not be graded, and does not count towards a grade. Questions from the fake midterm
(or similar ones) may appear on the final exam.