Spring, 2007
Curtis Brown
http://www.trinity.edu/cbrown/language/

This course will consider philosophical issues about syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Among these three areas, our primary focus will be on semantics, with significant attention to pragmatics, and and a fairly cursory look at syntax.

Syntax is concerned with the rules that determine whether a sentence is grammatical or not. Syntax is of interest to philosophy for a number of reasons. Noam Chomsky has argued that the basic features of syntax are innate and universal, a claim that is closely connected with the early modern dispute in philosophy over "innate ideas." Another claim of philosophical interest is what Jerry Fodor calls "the modularity of mind," the idea that many of the operations of the mind are carried out by specialized subsystems rather than by a general faculty of reasoning or problem-solving which is simply applied to different areas. Fodor has used syntax as an example to illustrate this modularity.

We will consider in detail issues involving the important semantic concepts of truth, meaning, and reference, including the following: (1) What is it for a word or sentence to be meaningful? Is it true, as the logical positivists asserted, that any sentence that cannot be empirically verified is meaningless? (2) How do words and sentences acquire meanings? Are they just labels for ideas or thoughts which could exist in precisely the same way without language? Or do our thoughts to some extent acquire their meaning from the words we use? And if the latter, how do those words acquire their meanings? (3) What is the relation between meaning and reference? Can the reference of my words be determined in part by things I am unaware of, or only by my own beliefs and intentions about their reference?

Finally, we will consider some issues about pragmatics, or features of language that depend on the contexts in which it is used. In particular we will consider issues about "speech acts," or the kinds of things we can do with words; about the implicit rules that govern conversations; and about the nature of metaphor. Throughout the semester we will attend to connections between the philosophy of language and other areas of philosophy, especially metaphysics and the philosophy of mind.

William G. Lycan, Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2000)
Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism (Open Court, 1985) [Lectures given in 1917-1918 and first published in The Monist in 1918]
A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic (Dover, 1952) [First edition published in 1935]
J. L. Austin, How to Do Things with Words (Harvard University Press, 1975) [Lectures given in 1955]
Saul Kripke, Naming and Necessity (Harvard University Press, 1980) [Lectures given in 1970]

TR 8:30 - 11:30. (I am usually in my office during office hours, but sometimes other commitments interfere; if you want to be certain I will be there, make an appointment with me. Other times can also be arranged by appointment.)

Grades will be based on the following work:

1. There will be a mid-term examination, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 7. This exam will contain questions on the terminology and basic ideas of the readings, and longer essay questions asking you to evaluate and compare the readings. The mid-term will count 25% of the final grade. 

2. One substantial paper, of 10-15 pages, is due Wednesday, April 18. The paper must include discussion of some of the readings for the course; I will give you a longer handout about it soon. I will ask you to give an oral presentation to the class on the topic of the paper during the latter part of the semester. The paper will count 35% of the final grade. I will require a proposal for the paper early in the semester. I will accept late papers, but the grade will be dropped one notch (e.g. from a B to a B- or from a B- to a C+) for every week day the paper is late.

3. There will be a final exam on Wednesday, May 2, at 2:00 PM. The final will count 25% of the final grade. 

4. Attendance and participation will count 15% of the final grade. The participation grade will include attendance, oral participation, weekly one-page papers, and occasional presentations to the class on the readings for a particular session. Important note: Although in general participation counts 15% of the grade, excessive absence is grounds for a failing grade in the course, not just on this portion of the final grade.

Note on Academic Integrity: You should be sure that you are familiar with the academic integrity policy stated on pages 1-2 of the Student Handbook. Note that violations of academic integrity include cheating, counterfeit work (i.e. turning in work that was done by someone else), unauthorized reuse of your own work ("turning in the same work to more than one class without consent of the instructors involved"), and plagiarism. The Student Handbook description of plagiarism is important enough to quote at length: "presenting as one's work the work of someone else without properly acknowledging the source. . . . Exact copying should be enclosed in quotation marks and be appropriately documented in footnotes or end notes that indicate the source of the quotation. Paraphrasing, when the basic sentence structure, phraseology, and unique language remain the same, is also plagiarism. When in doubt about these matters, it is the student's responsibility to seek guidance from the instructor of the course."

A tentative list of topics and readings follows.  See the detailed schedule for information about specific assignments! The following outline is a rough guide only.

Introduction

Theories of Reference I

Russell, Philosophy of Logical Atomism
Lycan, chapters 1, 2

Theories of Meaning

Traditional Theories

Lycan, chapter 5
handout from Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding
recommended: Hacking, Why Does Language Matter to Philosophy?, chapters 2-5

"Use" Theories

Lycan, chapter 6
Wittgenstein, selection from Philosophical Investigations

Psychological Theories

Lycan, chapter 7

Verificationism

Lycan, chapter 8
Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic

Truth-Condition Theories

Lycan, chapters 9-10
David Lewis, "Languages and Language"

Theories of Reference II

Lycan, chapters 3-4
Kripke, Naming and Necessity

Pragmatics and Speech Acts

Semantic Pragmatics

Lycan, chapter 11

Speech Acts and Illocutionary Force

Lycan, chapter 12
Austin, How to Do Things with Words

Implicative Relations

Lycan, chapter 13
Grice, "Logic and Conversation" (handout)
Suggested: David Lewis, "Scorekeeping in a Language Game"

Other Topics

Metaphor

Lycan, chapter 14
C. S. Lewis? Davidson? Searle? . . .

Syntax

Chomsky, selection from On Nature and Language

The "Private Language Argument"

Witgenstein, selections from Philosophical Investigations