PHIL30070 Philosophy of Language

Academic Year 2023/2024

This module is an examination of philosophical questions concerning thought, communication, and human language. What is the nature of meaning? How do words refer to things? What is the relationship between thought and language? Theories of meaning and communication will also be applied to other important topics, like the nature of hate speech, silencing, and lying or insincerity. Language and meaning became central topics in analytic philosophy in the early 20th century, making the philosophy of language crucial to understanding basic problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind to this day. This course introduces students to key debates in contemporary philosophy of language, focusing on basic notions like meaning, reference, truth, speech acts, and non-literal or indirect speech (like metaphor, irony, and implicature).

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course students will be familiar with key issues and debates in contemporary philosophy of language. They will have an understanding of the abstract issues relating to the intersection between language, mind and the world, of some more concrete questions of uses of language in extreme conditions of hate, prejudice and political coercion, and of how to employ methods in the philosophy of language to answer questions in other areas of philosophy.

Indicative Module Content:

The course focuses on contemporary philosophy of language in the analytic tradition

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Tutorial

7
Autonomous Student Learning

94
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The teaching is lecture based followed by discussions in tutorial groups. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

No prior learning is required, but an interest in language in abstraction as well as its uses in concrete social and political contexts will make the course more enjoyable


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: Essay (2000 words) End of trimester MCQ n/a Graded No

40
Essay: Essay (2000 words) Week 8 n/a Graded Yes

40
Continuous Assessment: Participation: Weekly Reading Response (starting in Week 2) Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

20

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Written and oral feedback on essays provided by lecturer and tutors.

Name Role
Mark Bowker Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Pepa Mellema Tutor
Dr Liam Ó Beagáin Tutor
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 11:00 - 12:50
Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 11:00 - 11:50
Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 13:00 - 13:50
Spring