Philosophy of Communication
Code
711011017
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Ciências da Comunicação
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
Luiz Carlos Mansur Baptista
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a. To discuss and understand the main philosophical questions concerning verbal communication;
b. To explore a number of puzzles about meaning and communication;
c. To establish an interface between Philosophy and Linguistics, specifically concerning Semantics and Pragmatics;
d. To provide students with the necessary conceptual tools for a critical analysis of communication.
Prerequisites
None
Subject matter
1.Meaning and reference.
2.Definite descriptions.
3.The descriptivist theory of proper names.
4.The theory of direct reference.
5.Traditional theories of meaning.
6.Meaning «use».
7.Grices theory of meaning.
8.Verificationism.
9.Davidsons truth-conditional theory.
10.Meaning and possible worlds.
11.Pragmatics: indexicals e demonstratives.
12.Speech acts.
13.Grice and «speaker meaning».
14.Metaphor.
Bibliography
Lycan, William, 2008. Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction, 2nd ed. Routledge.
Teaching method
The course is based on the theoretical exposition and classroom discussions of the topics presented in each class, with examples of practical applications.
Evaluation method
Each student will be evaluated by an in-class exam, covering all the course topics, as well as a short individual essay. The exam will weigh 60% in the final grade, while the essay will weigh 40%.