Course: Philosophy of Language

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Course title Philosophy of Language
Course code KFI/FJFN
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 6
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course unspecified
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Dach Stefanie, Mgr. Ph.D.
  • Marvan Tomáš, Doc. Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
1) Introduction: What does it mean to speak a language? 2) Classical theories of meaning: from Frege to Quine 3) Semantic externalism 4) Current approaches to meaning: inferentialism 5) Current approaches to meaning: teleosemantics 6) Pragmatics: speech act theory, implicatures, deictic and indexical expressions 7) Pragmatics: sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning, contextualism 8) Modality: necessity, possibility and possible worlds 9) Modality: "ought" and the language of morals 10) Language, mind and thought 11) Artificial languages: perfect languages, international auxiliary languages and programming languages 12) Language in human-computer interaction 13) Language, technology and power

Learning activities and teaching methods
Seminar classes, Lecture
  • Contact hours - 52 hours per semester
  • Presentation preparation (report) (1-10) - 10 hours per semester
  • Graduate study programme term essay (40-50) - 45 hours per semester
  • Preparation for an examination (30-60) - 49 hours per semester
prerequisite
Knowledge
describe the main schools of thought in modern, especially 20th-century philosophy
explain different traditional approaches to meaning
characterize selected authors in analytical philosophy and their main theses
Skills
reconstruct arguments in philosophical and scientific texts
use common academic digital tools, e.g. research databases
formulate and defend one's position in discussion
Competences
N/A
N/A
learning outcomes
Knowledge
explain selected contemporary approaches to semantic meaning, pragmatics and modality
describe different approaches to the relation between language and mind
characterize the place of language in contemporary technologies and human-computer interaction
Skills
use fundamental distinctions in philosophy of language (e.g. semantics vs. pragmatics, modal vs. non-modal, sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning) with understanding
apply philosophical theories of language and meaning to evaluate the role of language in new technologies
discuss and defend one's arguments about a selected thesis as part of a poster presentation
Competences
N/A
N/A
teaching methods
Knowledge
Textual studies
Self-study of literature
Seminar
Multimedia supported teaching
Skills
Seminar classes
Individual study
Students' portfolio
Collaborative instruction
Discussion
Competences
Textual studies
Collaborative instruction
Cooperative instruction
Students' portfolio
assessment methods
Knowledge
Combined exam
Portfolio
Peer evaluation of students
Individual presentation at a seminar
Skills
Combined exam
Individual presentation at a seminar
Portfolio
Peer evaluation of students
Competences
Combined exam
Peer evaluation of students
Recommended literature
  • Austin, J. L. Jak udělat něco slovy. Praha : Filosofia, 2000. ISBN 80-7007-133-8.
  • Lycan, W. G. Philosophy of Language. A Contemporary Introduction. London: Routledge, 2008.
  • Peregrin, Jaroslav. Kapitoly z analytické filosofie. Vyd. 1. Praha : Filosofia, 2005. ISBN 80-7007-207-5.
  • Peregrin, Jaroslav. Význam a struktura. 1. vyd. Praha : Oikoymenh, 1999. ISBN 80-86005-93-3.
  • Pinker, Steven. Jazykový instinkt : jak mysl vytváří jazyk. Vyd. 1. Praha : Dybbuk, 2009. ISBN 978-80-7438-006-8.
  • Soames, Scott. Philosophy of Language. Oxford : Princeton University Press, 2010.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester