Mar 29, 2024  
Catalogue 2021-2022 
    
Catalogue 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Add to Portfolio (opens a new window)

PHIL 310 - Seminar in Analytic Philosophy

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2021/22a: Advanced Philosophy of Language: Vagueness, Context-Sensitivity, Genericity. In this course, we study very specific kinds of constructions of natural language that pose difficult questions for theories of meaning, mind, and metaphysics. These constructions include vague words, or words that make it difficult for us to draw a line between items to which the word does or does not apply, like “bald,” “tall,” or “old.” We also look at context-sensitive words that appear to apply to different things depending on the context, like “yesterday,” and “every bottle of beer.” Finally, we look at generic constructions like “Ducks lay eggs”, “Vassar students like art” and “The tiger migrated from Africa to India a long time ago.” These constructions appear to make general claims that can be true or false, but it is unclear how many of a population must have the property to make the claim true or false. The seminar is primarily geared toward students who have focused interest on the complex workings of linguistic meaning.  Barry Lam.

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 222  or permission of the instructor. Priority will be given to Philosophy majors.

One 3-hour period.

Course Format: CLS



Add to Portfolio (opens a new window)