Philosophy

What is meaning? How does language relate to speakers, their thoughts, and the world? How do we understand one another? Are the truth and falsehood of our statements determined by the world or by our linguistic conventions? Attempts at answering these fundamental questions about language have given rise to a number of important issues within contemporary philosophy. This course will be an overview of these issues as well as their bearing on broader debates within metaphysics, such as realism and anti-realism. Readings will come from authors of the 20th century analytic tradition, such as Frege, Russell, Ayer, Quine, Kripke, Putnam, Grice, and others. Open to 2nd year students and above.