Topics in Philosophy of Language:
Pragmatics and Context-Dependence
Philosophy 345—Spring 01
Syllabus—Revised: 30 April 2001
Required Texts
Pragmatics: A Reader, Steven Davis (editor).
Course Packet (will be available at Pequod).
Reading List
Implicature, Sentence Meaning, and Speaker Meaning
Week 1 (6 - 8 February):
"Logic and Conversation," (1975) by Grice (in Davis).
Week 2 (13 - 15 February):
"Inference and Implicature," (1986) by Dierdre Wilson and Dan
Sperber (in Davis).
"Implicature, Explicature, and Truth-Theoretic Semantics,"
(1988) by Robyn Carston (in Davis).
Case Study I: Definite Descriptions and the
Referential/Attributive Distinction
Weeks 3-4 (20 February - 1 March):
"Reference and Definite Descriptions" (1966) by Keith
Donnellan (in Davis).
"Speaker's Reference and Semantic Reference" (1977) by Saul
Kripke (in Davis).
Case Study II: Metaphor
Week 5 (6 - 8 March):
"What Metaphors Mean" (1978) by Donald Davidson (in Davis).
"Metaphor" (1982) by John Searle (in Davis).
"A Theory for Metaphor" (1984) by A.P. Martinich (in Davis).
Presupposition and Accommodation
Week 6 (13 - 15 March):
"On Referring" (1950) by P.F. Strawson (course packet).
"Pragmatics," (1972) by Robert Stalnaker (course packet).
First Paper Due: 16 March
SPRING BREAK
Weeks 7 - 8 (27 March - 5 April):
"Pragmatic Presuppositions," (1974) by Robert Stalnaker
(in Davis).
"How Presuppositions are Inherited: A Solution to the
Projection Problem," (1982) by Scott Soames (in Davis).
Case Study III: Conditionals
Weeks 9 - 10 (10 -19 April)
"Indicative Conditionals," by Paul Grice (course packet).
"Indicative Conditionals," (1976) by Robert Stalnaker
(course packet).
Second Paper Due: 19 April
Essential Indexicals
Weeks 11 - 12 (24 April - May Day):
"The Problem of the Essential Indexical" (1979) by John
Perry (course packet).
"Assertion," (1978) by Robert Stalnaker (in Davis).
Case Study IV: Quantifier Domain Restriction
Reading Period (8 May, 11:00AM - 1:00 PM)
"Context and Communication," (1990) by Stephen Neale (course packet).
Third Paper Due: 15 April
Note, if you opted not to turn in the second paper, then your
final paper for the course must be a more substantial paper of 9 -
12 pages.
Course Requirements
Short homework assignemnts (15% total)
This includes weekly Wednesday emails to me.
Three 3 - 6 page papers (20 % each). Paper topics will be
distributed two weeks in advance of due date.
Papers are due by 5PM in my mailbox on the second floor of 1879
Hall. Late papers will be docked by one-third of a grade per day
of lateness (I'll round up to the nearest day) except in
cases of emergency.
Final Exam (25%). The final will be a 24-hour take home. Please
schedule an appointment with me for some time during exam period to
pick up and return your final exam.
