Philosophy 485, Selected Problems in Philosophy of LanguagePhilosophy of Language is where the action is in contemporary philosophy, with results and problems which have repercussions throughout the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We'll concentrate on those problems for which it seems to me the stakes are highest. Those include the following:
- What is language, really?
- What is the meaning of a word? What is meaning in general?
- How do words refer to the world?
- How do we do things with language? To what extent are there limits on what we can do with language?
Phil 391, Plato vs. PlatonismThis continues a series of reading groups/seminars, mainly on questions about philosophical methods, language, and Wittgenstein.
For some reason Plato is usually thought of as a Platonist, someone who thinks that the underlying permanent abstract form of a thing which gives that thing its identity is more real than the thing so defined. Plato gives some arguments for the view and others have also argued for it. However, Plato also offers some crucial arguments against the view, and some arguments regarding his use of irony might also lead us to be suspicious regarding whether he really believed in Platonism himself. We'll look over the problems and relevant arguments, hoping to finally get it right. This is not just about figuring out what Plato really thought--we'll mainly be working on what we should think. To what extent is Platonism correct? We'll use some contemporary work, but mostly will concentrate on looking in the horse's mouth.