Philosophy 313: The Philosohy of Language
Spring 2008
Class time: 11:30 a.m. -12:25 p.m., CC208
Professor: Craig DeLancey
Email: delancey@oswego.edu
Office: Campus Center 217
Office Hours: WF 3:00 -- 4:00 p.m. and by appointment


Introduction
This class is an introduction to some of the philosophical questions concerning language. After a brief discussion of the nature of language, non-human animal communication, and the issue of naturalizing semantics, we will focus upon: reference, meaning, metaphor, and the relation of language to realism. Other topics touched upon will include the nature of truth, pragmatics, and the role of logic in the study of language. The course will be of interest to anyone curious about the nature of language or interested in more formal approaches to philosophy. We will use both a general overview text and primary readings.


Text
We'll use two texts for this class:
A. P. Martinech (editor), The Philosophy of Language

Assignments and exams
There will be periodic assignments, and three exams. You must complete all the assigned readings and discuss them in class. I will give periodic pop quizes that will test only whether you did the reading. For the first two 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. The final exam will be a take-home exam in which you will be required to write some comprehensive essay(s). Homework assignments will be irregular, and concerned with encouraging you to grapple in an original way with the class material.

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: 20%
Class exams: 60% (30% each)
Final paper: 20%
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
I will frequently update an online schedule of readings and assignments. It is your responsibility to check the www pages for the class at least every other day! But here is a course outline: