PHI303: Philosophy of Language
Key details
| Accredited towards | Bachelor of Arts in the Liberal Arts |
| Unit type | Elective unit |
| Credit points | 6 |
| Indicative contact hours | 3 hours per week |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Offered in | Semester 1 |
| Tuition fee | Learn more |
*Not offered in 2025
Overview
This unit is intended to develop in the student an understanding of the nature and consequences of the so-called ‘linguistic turn’ of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in the course of which philosophy moved, roughly speaking, from an emphasis on the mind to an emphasis on language. Key concepts and distinctions in the philosophy of language, to be addressed in this course, may include: the analytic/synthetic distinction, logical atomism, the positivist verifiability criterion, internal vs. external questions, category errors, language games, meaning holism, the indeterminacy of translation, performativity, referential transparency and opacity, intentionality, the New Theory of Reference, and the pragmatics/semantics distinction. Familiarity with these concepts will be developed in the course of an engagement with the work of philosophers who may include: Frege, Russell, and early Wittgenstein; Carnap, Ayer, and the Vienna Circle; late Wittgenstein, Quine; Kripke, Putnam and other proponents of the New Theory of Reference.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:
- Critically evaluate the philosophical concepts and doctrines that have been developed in the philosophy of language from Frege onwards;
- Engage with primary philosophical texts in this area;
- Describe and explain the features that make the philosophy of language central to the broader analytic tradition;
- Produce clear, logical and nuanced arguments in written and oral forms in response to the assigned readings.
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