Philosophy of Language I

Code:

FLUP0521

Acronym:

FLI1

Instance: 2004/2005 - 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	46	Official Study Plan - LFIL	3	-	6	-
		Plano oficial 2003 - 1º ao 3º ano	3	-	6	-

Objectives

Philosophy of Language I is mainly theoretical but will also focus on crucial aspects of the history of philosophy of language from the 19th century on. The first part of the subject’s plan 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 in the scope of other philosophical traditions in Part III. The programme aims to enable students to describe the general framework of contemporary research on language and to gain a thorough and direct understanding of classical texts used for analysis in lessons. The following encyclopaedia 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
Sciences of language and philosophy of language. Basic terminology for the study of language. Natural languages and formal languages. Cognitive science, mind and language. Linguistics as a cognitive science (based on N. Chomsky). Some language problems from the viewpoint of biology, psychology and linguistics (formal linguistics and psycholinguistics): origins of language in human beings, Grammars as models, cerebral localizations related with the faculty of language, modularity.

PART II
1. The importance of the philosophy of language in the history of analytical philosophy.
2. Meaning and Reference: G. Frege and B. Russell - Über Sinn und Bedeutung (1892) and On Denoting (1905). Proper names and Defined Descriptions. Comparison of the ontological and epistemological positions of G. Frege and B. Russell.
3. A pictorial theory of language: L. 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: L. Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations (1953). Pluralism and pragmatism. Argument of private language. Nature of language, thought and philosophy.

PART III
Reference to the status of language in philosophical projects by M. Heidegger, J. Habermas, M. Foucault and J.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 year for each subject-matter.

Complementary Bibliography

To be indicated in the course of the semester, when necessary.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures; practical assignment on text analysis.

During this course students have access to collections of texts on the issues studied in class.

Software

No specific software required.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Eligibility for exams

Positive mark in the final exam.

Calculation formula of final grade

Mark obtained in the final exam.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not applicable.

Classification improvement

Final exam in the re-sit exam period.

Observations

Language of instruction: Portuguese