Module PHIL3061: LANGUAGE AND MIND

Department: Philosophy

PHIL3061: LANGUAGE AND MIND

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

• Language is a central element of philosophical theorizing, and specific views we take on the nature of language influence philosophical agendas in other fields, such as epistemology, the philosophy of mind, and metaphysics. However, language is also a topic for biology, psychology, and linguistics, and it is important to coordinate one's philosophy of language with findings in these other areas. The course therefore aims to cover the essentials of language from an interdisciplinary perspective - giving answers to every question a philosopher might want to ask about human language, including its evolution, its implementation in the brain, and its relation to thought. The primary focus of the course will be on language as a species-property, i.e. a form of communication unique to humans, and as perhaps the most distinctive aspect of human nature. To understand this aspect, we need to ask what it is about the mind that makes humans acquire knowledge of language and other species not.

Content

• Cartesian linguistics (Descartes, Humboldt, Herder, Chomsky)
• Behaviourism and the Chomskyan revolution
• The analytic tradition in the philosophy of language
• The nature of meaning and reference: Russell, Wittgenstein
• The compositionality of meaning
• Language structure (syntax)
• Language acquisition: some basic findings
• Language and the brain: some basic findings
• Language evolution: what we know and don't know
• Conceptions of the architecture of the language faculty
• Language as a window to the human mind
• Language and thought

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
• ability to make first steps in philosophical and interdisciplinary research programs studying the origin and nature of human language.

• 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 essay provides 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 summative essay tests knowledge and understanding of the course material, and the ability to identify and explain issues covered in the module, and, using relevant research material, to present different approaches to those issues, and make reasoned judgement on the merits and demerits of such approaches.
• 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:

One essay of 2000 words

■ 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