Module PHIL3061: PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

Department: PHILOSOPHY

PHIL3061: PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

Prerequisites

• At least one Level 2 module in Philosophy OR in the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine, OR other appropriate evidence.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide a detailed study of the movements and controversies, in Analytic and European philosophy, which have made the nature of language a central philosophical issue in the last hundred years.

Content

• The topics covered include some of the following:
• Traditional views of language as communicating ideas (Aristotle, Locke)
• The achievements and legacy of Frege; functions, reference and sense
• Wittgenstein's project in the 'Tractatus'
• Wittgenstein's later works, 'Philosophical Investigations'; naming, games, language and mind, and private language
• Kripkean interpretation of Wittgenstein as sceptic
• Chomsky: Universal Grammar and Innateness
• Language and Intentionality: Grice, Millikan
• The Vienna Circle
• Quine's Scepticism about Meaning
• Davidson on Truth and Meaning
• Realism and Anti-Realism
• Saussure, Signs and Semiotics
• Language and the Body: Merleau-Ponty
• Evolution of Language
• Derrida's logocentricity and language as a dangerous supplement
• Derrida's dispute with Searle over the impossibility of meaning
• Metaphor

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have knowledge and understanding of some of the central movements and controversies in our recent understanding of language, and of the philosophical standpoints and technical innovations from which they have developed.

• correctly utilise specialist vocabulary
• grasp, analyse, evaluate and deploy subject-specific concepts and arguments
• locate, understand, assess and utilise pertinent philosophical (and, where appropriate, historical) sources

• express themselves clearly and succinctly in writing
• comprehend complex ideas, propositions and theories
• defend their opinions by reasoned argument
• seek out and identify appropriate sources of evidence and information
• tackle problems in a clear-sighted and logical fashion.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures deliver basic module-specific information, and provide a framework for further study.
• Tutorials provide opportunities for students to test their own understanding of the material studied, and defend and debate different opinions.
• Guided reading provides a structure within which students exercise and extend their abilities to make use of available learning resources.
• The Formative essays provide the opportunity for students to test their knowledge and understanding of the module content, and their ability to present and defend relevant arguments and theories, uninhibited by the need for summative assessment.
• The unseen examination tests students' overall knowledge and understanding of the module content at the end of the module, and their ability to bring it to bear on new problems under pressure of time.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Two essays of 2000 words each

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University