Philosophy 133

This course is an introduction to central topics in the philosophy of language. These include: the nature of linguistic meaning, the relation of meaning to truth and reference, what it is to know a language, the relation of language to thought, pragmatic aspects of linguistic communication, and skepticism about linguistic meaning. We’ll read a number of classic texts in the field, including work by Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein and J.L.Austin, as well as some more recent sources.

Some previous background in philosophy is required, as well as Philosophy 12A (Introductory Logic) or equivalent.