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Lecturer(s)
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Nejeschleba Tomáš, prof. Ph.D.
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Dragoun Ivo, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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Obsah: 1. What is philosophy of language? What motivates it? What is philosophically interesting about language? 2. Frege 3. Russell and the descriptive theory of names 4. Kripke on proper names 5. Kripke on natural kind terms 6. Wittgenstein 7. Quine and Davidson on translation and interpretation 8. Quine`s holism; Austin on speech acts 9. Grice on meaning 10. Chomsky and innateness of language 11. Can a computer understand you? Literatura: Chomsky, N. (1968) Language and mind, New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. Dummett, M. (1981) Frege: philosophy of language 2nd ed., Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Kripke, S.A. (1972) Naming and necessity, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Lycan, William G. (2012) Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge Devitt, M. & Sterelny, K. (1999) Language and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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unspecified
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Learning outcomes
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The course is an introduction to the 20th century philosophy of language from its origination in Peirce's semiotics and Frege's semantics to the most contemporary approaches in the pragmatically oriented theory of communication. The topics cover e.g. Russell's theory of descriptions, Wittgenstein's picture theory of language, verificationism of Vienna Circle, Oxfordian ordinary language philosophy, Quine's radical translation, Davidson's radical interpretation and Turing's analytical behaviourism. The lectures are going to be supplemented by the samples of key texts from this intellectually stimulating tradition. The course includes a brief explanation of the basics of formal logic, which is used as a symbolic apparatus for analysing natural language. The end of the semester is dedicated to a number of hypotheses about the neurocognitive basis of linguistic abilities and the evolutionary origin of language.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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unspecified
The final test is computer based, it takes place in room KB-1.17 at Křížkovského 12 and consists of 20 multiple-choice questions. The time limit is 20 minutes. The assessment is graded: 19-20 points A, 17-18 points B, 15-16 points C, 13-14 points D, 11-12 points E, 10 or less points F.
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Recommended literature
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Devitt, M. & Sterelny, K. Language and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. 1999.
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Lycan, William G. Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction. 2012.
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