Philosophy 313: The Philosophy of Language
Professor: Craig DeLancey
Email: craig.delancey@oswego.edu
Office: Campus Center 217
Office Hours: TBA
Introduction
In this course you will learn about the most fundamental questions
confronting linguistics and the study of language, and also about the
relationship of language to knowledge. With this understanding, you
will be able to identify the most challenging aspects of the study of
language. In this course you will also develop your own perspective
upon these fundamental questions, and help to find ways to formulate
these questions so that they might someday be answered by a science.
The kinds of fundamental questions we will consider are mostly of
three kinds:
- What is reference? How can we best explain reference? What
does a theory of reference need to explain? Does language really
in any way "connect" to a non-linguistic reality?
- What is meaning? What might a theory of meaning look like?
What must a theory of language explain?
- What is the relationship between language and knowledge?
Does our language shape our knowledge? And, do various theories
of reference or meaning have implications for our theory of
knowledge?
We will also take some time to discuss two additional topics: the
nature of metaphor, and performative speech.
Text
Most of our readings will be online. THere is one text for this class:
L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations
I don't care which edition of PI you get; find whatever is
cheapest for you. I think I did find the cheapest one, however, and I
had the bookstore order it.
Assignments and exams
To help you meet our goals, there will be weekly assignments
in which we can experiment with the things we are learning.
To help you assess your progress in meeting our goals, there
will be two exams. You must
complete all the assigned readings and discuss them in class.
For the exams, I will give you before the exam a
list of possible questions; then, for the actual exam, I will ask some
subset of those questions.
If you have a disabling condition which may interfere with your
ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the
Disability Services Office.
Grading
The grade will be determined in the following way:
Homework assignments and pop quizes: 40%
Class exams: 60% (30% each)
Homeworks will often be reviewed in the class period where they are
due. For this reason, late homeworks will not be accepted for
credit.
If you miss an exam and have an excused absence for the day you miss
the exam, you may make it up, by special appointment with me, when you
are able to come back to class. It is your responsibility to arrange
any make-up exams as soon as you know you are going to miss the
exam. Otherwise you may lose the opportunity to take the test, since I
cannot give make-up exams after the class has gone over the
answers.
Here is how you secure an excused absence: Only prior notification with credibly documented or
easily verifiable reasons (e.g., medical visits to Mary Walker,
documented participation in official sporting events, etc.) will
result in excused absences. You must notify in writing, call, or email
me prior to your absence from class. Or you must notify the
Philosophy Dept. secretary, Pat Meleski, before you are going to be
absent, via email at meleski@oswego.edu, or by phone at
x2249. However, you must make sure she knows your name, the number of
the course, the date, and your easily verifiable reason, along with a
request to forward the information to me. It is better to give your
information to me, except when you are unable to communicate with my
phone or email for some reason.
Please hold onto all of your assignments and exams. Sometime before
the end of the semester I will ask you to review the grades that I
have recorded to make sure that I have not made any mistakes.
Any cheating will receive a zero grade, and will be reported to the
Dean.
College Policy on Intellectual Integrity
Intellectual integrity on the part of all students is basic to
individual growth and development through college course work. When
academic dishonesty occurs, the teaching/learning climate is seriously
undermined and student growth and development are impeded. For these
reasons, any form of intellectual dishonesty is a serious concern and
is therefore prohibited.
The full intellectual integrity policy can be found at
www.oswego.edu/administration/registrar/policy_text.html#cpii
Office Hours
In addition to the listed office hours, I encourage you to make
appointments. I will be available quite a bit. Please try to come to
office hours with specific questions in mind. You can of course come
with a general request for help, but it is always helpful if you spend
a little time thinking about how I can best help you
out.
Schedule
See the tentative class assignments for a schedule outline.