Philosophy of Language I

Code:

FLUP0521

Acronym:

FLI1

Instance: 2006/2007 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Institution Responsible:	Faculty of Arts

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
FIL	52	Official Study Plan - LFIL	3	-	6	-
		Plano oficial 2003 - 1º ao 3º ano	3	-	6	-

Objectives

This subject is mainly theoretical but will also focus on the key aspects of the history of Philosophy of Language from the 19th century on. The first part of the subject programme will focus on the empirical studies of language and on theory of language as an introduction to the subject’s main theme – Philosophy of Language – to be explored in Part II, followed by a brief reference to the theory of language within the scope of other philosophical traditions in Part III. The programme is designed to enable students to describe the general framework of contemporary research on language and to gain a thorough and direct understanding of classical texts analyzed in class. The following encyclopedia is recommended (under the responsibility of the Portuguese Society of Philosophy) for a general follow-up and especially as a reference for the use of Portuguese technical vocabulary:
BRANQUINHO, João & MURCO, Desidério (orgs), Enciclopédia de Termos Lógico-Filosóficos, Lisboa, Gradiva 2001.

Program

PART I
Science of Language and Philosophy of Language: reasons for the study of language. Basic terminology for the study of language. Natural language and formal language. Cognitive science, mind and language. Linguistics as a cognitive science (based on N. Chomsky). Some issues of language from the viewpoint of biology, psychology and linguistics (formal linguistics and psycholinguistics): origins of language in human beings, Grammars as models, areas of the brain related to the faculty of language, modularity.

PART II
1. Importance of Philosophy of Language in the history of Analytic Philosophy.
2. Sense and Reference: Frege and Russell - Über Sinn und Bedeutung (1892) and On Denoting (1905). Proper Names and Defined Descriptions. Comparison between the ontological and epistemological positions of Frege and Russell.
3. A pictorial theory of language: Wittgenstein - Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921). The theory of proposition according to Bild (model). The status of logic and the place of subjectivity.
4. Theories of use: Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations (1953). Pluralism and pragmatism. Argument of private language. Following rules. Nature of language, thought and philosophy.

PART III
Reference to the status of language in philosophical projects by Heidegger, Habermas, Foucault and Derrida.

Main Bibliography

BEANEY, M. (org), 1997, The Frege Reader, Oxford, Blackwell.
DUMMETT, M., 1993, Origins of Analytic Philosophy, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press.
— 1973, Frege’s Philosophy of Language, London, Duckworth.
FREGE, G., Sense and Reference (Über Sinn und Bedeutung) in BEANEY 1997.
FROMKIN, Victoria & RODMAN, Robert, 1993, An Introduction to Language, New York, Harcourt Brace.
GAZZANIGA, M., IVTY, R. & MANGUN, G., 1998, Cognitive Neuroscience. The Biology of the Mind, New York, Norton.
GUTTENPLAN, Samuel (ed), 1994, A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind, Oxford, Blackwell.
HABERMAS, Jürgen, 1990, O Discurso Filosófico da Modernidade, Lisboa, Dom Quixote.
HAHN, E., 1999, The Philosophy of Donald Davidson, The Library of Living Philosophers, Chicago, Open Court.
HAHN, E. & SCHILPP, P.,1998, The Philosophy of W.O.Quine, The Library of Living Philosophers, Chicago, Open Court.
HALE, Bob & WRIGHT, Crispin, 1997, A Companion to the Philosophy of Language, Oxford, Blackwell.
KRIPKE, Saul, 1982, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press.
LOURENÇO, M.S, 1995, A Cultura da Subtileza - Aspectos da Filosofia Analítica, Lisboa, Colibri.
LYCAN, William, 1999, Philosophy of Language, London, Routledge.
MARTINICH, A.P. (ed), 1990, The Philosophy of Language, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
PINKER, Stephen, 1994, The Language Instinct, London, Penguin.
PUTNAM, Hilary, 1975, Philosophical Papers vol. II Mind Language and Reality, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
RUSSELL, Bertrand, On Denoting (1905) in Logic and Knowledge-Essays 1901-1950, London, Allen & Unwin, 1956.
SCHILPP, P., 1963, The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell, The Library of Living Philosophers, Chicago, Open Court.
SLUGA, H. & STERN, D, 1996, The Cambridge Companion to Wittgenstein, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
WITTGENSTEIN, L., 1987, Tratado Lógico-Filosófico, Lisboa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
— 1987, Investigações Filosóficas, Lisboa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
ZILHÃO, António, 1993, Linguagem da Filosofia e Filosofia da Linguagem – Estudos sobre Wittgenstein, Lisboa, Colibri.

Note: Further bibliography, in Portuguese whenever possible, will be recommended in the course of the semester for each subject-matter.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures.
Practical coursework concerning text analysis.
During this course students have access to collections of texts on the issues addressed in class.

Software

No specific software required.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Eligibility for exams

Students are required to attend at least 75% of classes.

Calculation formula of final grade

Mark of the final exam OR average sum of the marks obtained in the exam and in the submitted written assignments.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not applicable.

Classification improvement

According to the Assessment Regulations in force.

Observations

Language of instruction: Portuguese.