Philosophy of Language

(2.5,3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

PHIL 30070 Philosophy of Language at UCD; Questions concerning language and the nature of meaning have been at the center of twentieth century philosophy. Moreover, philosophy of language has been the defining theme of the analytic tradition in philosophy. This course aims to introduce students to key issues and debates in contemporary philosophy of language by concentrating on the dual themes of meaning and reference. It addresses questions such as: What is the connection between language and thought? how does language connect with the world? what gives meaning to our utterances? what are the requirements for interpreting and translating other speakers? The course takes a historical-thematic approach The first section of the course focuses on key texts by the originators of the analytic tradition in philosophy - Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein. In the second section, we look at the development and critique of the earlier themes by contemporary American philosophers of language including Quine, Davidson, Kripke and Putnam.