Postgraduate Course: Formal Semantics for Philosophers MSc (PHIL11118)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Formal semantics is a subfield of linguistics and philosophy of language that aims at constructing a formalanalysis of meaning. More specifically, formal semanticists generally attempt to construct a systematic method for recursively and compositionally deriving the truth conditions of natural language sentences.
Formal semantics is now an essential part of the philosophy of language and often has wide-reaching impact in other philosophical areas such as (formal) epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, and metaethics.
Since a number of sophisticated mathematical and logical tools are used in formal semantics, this course is intended as an introduction to these tools as well as the underlying methodology. We will focus on three general, but complex, issues, namely:
I. Restricted/Generalized Quantifiers (Quantificational Determiner Phrases).
II. Free vs. Bound Variables (Pronouns).
III. Index-Shifting (Intensional Operators).
Formal Semantics for Philosophers MSc is also shared with the undergraduate version Formal Semantics for Philosophers (PHIL10137).
For courses co-taught with undergraduate students and with no remaining undergraduate spaces left, a maximum of 8 MSc students can join the course. Priority will be given to MSc students who wish to take the course for credit on a first come first served basis after matriculation.
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| Course description |
1. Formal Foundations
2. Syntax--Semantics
3. Predicates, Modifiers, and Descriptions
4. Relative Clauses, Variables, and Variable Binding
5. Generalized Quantifiers I
6. Generalized Quantifiers II
7. Bound and Referential Pronouns
8. Donkey Anaphora and E-Type Pronouns
9. From Extensional to Intensional Semantics
10. Intensional Semantics
11. Conditionals, Orderings, and DPs in Modal Contexts
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Logic 1 (PHIL08004)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students must have passed Logic 1 (PHIL08004) or equivalent during their previous studies at another institution before taking this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One 2500 word essay.
Essay deadline: Thursday 21st April 2016 by 12 noon.
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references)
Return deadline: Friday 13th May 2016 |
| Feedback |
- Students will be able to meet with the course organiser to discuss a draft of their summative paper during weekly office hours.
- Formative feedback day that course organiser will hold once every semester.
- Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay by week 6 deadline on Turnitin via Learn. The essay cannot be draft of summative essay but it can be on the same topic.
Formative essay deadline: Thursday 25th February 2016 by 12 noon
Return deadline: Friday 18th March 2016 |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand various formal tools used in formal semantics. (basic generative syntax, type driven interpretations, lambda abstraction, variable assignments, binding, etc.)
- understand important methodological principles. (compositionality, recursion, syntax-semantic correspondence.)
- derive the truth conditions of simple natural language sentences.
- understand (a few) complex issues widely discussed in philosophy of language and semantics. (the semantics of: quantificational determiner phrases, pronouns, modals, attitude verbs, and conditionals)
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Reading List
von Fintel, Kai and Heim, Irene 2007. ''Intensional Semantics''. Unpublished ms.
Glanzberg, Michael 2006. ''Quantifiers''. In Lepore, Ernest and Smith, Barry C. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook
of Philosophy of Language, chap. 31. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 794-822.
Heim, Irene and Kratzer, Angelika 1998. ''Semantics in Generative Grammar''. Blackwell Publishing.
Kaplan, David 1989. ''Demonstratives''. In Almog, Joseph, Perry, John and Wettstein, Howard (eds.) Themes From Kaplan. Oxford University Press.
Lewis, David 1980. ''Index, Context, and Content''. In Kanger, Stig and Öhman, Sven (eds.) Philosophy and Grammar. D. Reidel Publishing Company.
McCawley, James D. 1993. ''Everything that Linguists have Always Wanted to Know about Logic ... But Were
Ashamed to Ask.'' 2nd edn. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Neale, Stephen 1990. ''Descriptive Pronouns and Donkey Anaphora''. The Journal of Philosophy, LXXXVII, 3:113-150. |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
Please see Learn page |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
An understanding of, and competence with, various formal tools that are used in a number of other areas of philosophy and linguistics. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Taught by Dr Anders Schoubye |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Anders Schoubye
Tel:
Email: aschouby@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lynsey Buchanan
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Lynsey.Buchanan@ed.ac.uk |
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