Postgraduate Course: Philosophy of Linguistics (PHIL11189)
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 | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | A postgraduate-level introduction to philosophical analysis of issues in linguistic science. |
| Course description |
Philosophy of science as it applies to linguistics; the ontology of language, languages, words, and expressions; grammars and syntax; language and thought; language and the external world; the normativity of language; learnability and language acquisition; intuition and the nature of the evidence for linguistic theories.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2018/19, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 27,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
169 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Assignment: short essay on a designated topic from early sessions of the class, roughly 1000 to 1500 words; 40% weighting«br /»
2. Final examination, 60% weighting |
| Feedback |
Midterm essay will be marked and returned with feedback; brief presentations by students based on reading, plus other evidence from interaction in class meetings, may be evaluated and feedback given in personal interaction with the co-instructors. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- acquainted with several of the kinds of arguments used in contemporary analytic philosophy
- appreciate the character of a selection of the kinds of arguments used in modern theoretical linguistics
- formulate and defend or critique positions on key controversies in the philosophy of linguistic science
- evaluate the state of the literature in philosophy of linguistics
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Reading List
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy articles on 'Philosophy of Linguistics', 'Concepts', 'Innateness and language', and 'Reflective equilibrium';
Selections from works by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Saul Kripke, Noam Chomsky, Crispin Wright, Ruth Millikan, David Lewis, Charles Hockett, Jerry Fodor, Fiona Cowie, and Michael Devitt; |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Rigorous reasoning about often difficult and controversial theoretical material and philosophical analysis. |
| Keywords | language,linguistics,philosophy,epistemology,metaphysics |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Brian Rabern
Tel:
Email: brian.rabern@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk |
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