Philosophy of Language 4320012 Reading List, Part I - University of York

Philosophy of Language 4320012 Reading List, Part I

Overviews of Philosophy of Language

Blackburn, Simon 1984: Spreading the Word. Oxford: OUP. See Ch. 1. Davies, M. 2006: `Foundational Issues in the Philosophy of Language', in Devitt and

Hanley 2006. Sections 1 to 4.2 inclusive. Devitt, M. and R. Hanley (eds) 2006: The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of

Language (Oxford: Blackwell). Devitt, M. and K. Sterelny 1999: Language and Reality: An Introduction to the

Philosophy of Language, 2nd edition (Blackwell). Sections 1.1 to 1.3 inclusive.

Locke on Words as Signs of Ideas Blackburn, Simon 1984: Spreading the Word. Oxford: OUP. See Ch. 2, Sects 1 and 2,

and notes. Mounts an introductory/intermediate level examination of imagist accounts of meaning, with a discussion of Locke. Guyer, Paul 1994: `Locke's Philosophy of Language'. In Vere Chappell (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Locke. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Extract in study pack: Sections I and II only.) Locke, John 1698/1975: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Ed. with an introduction by Peter H. Nidditch. Oxford: OUP. Extract from Book III in study pack. Lowe, E. J. 2005: Locke. Abingdon: Routledge. Ch. 4. In study pack. Losonsky, Michael 2007: `Language, Meaning, and Mind in Locke's Essay'. In Lex Newman (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In study pack. (Available as an ebook via the library catalogue. For bibliography, please see this online version.) Miller, A. 1998: Philosophy of Language (London: Routledge). See Chapter 2, Section 3--in study pack, in Frege section.

Frege on Sense and Reference

Beaney, Michael 1996: Making Sense. Oxford: Duckworth. See Ch. 6 for a clear and detailed treatment of Sinn and Bedeutung.

Dummett, M. A. E. 1978: `Frege's Distinction Between Sense and Reference' in his Truth and Other Enigmas (London: Duckworth, 1978). Reprinted in Moore 1993. Careful and difficult in equal measure. In this paper Dummett provides an

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argument for the claim that we have to posit sense as an ingredient of meaning. This argument can be challenged, but it takes some work and imagination to see how. Dummett is a towering figure in philosophy of language, and he should be taken very seriously. This said, no-one would deny that he likes a good, long sentence.

Dummett, M. A. E. 1981: Frege: Philosophy of Language (London: Duckworth). See especially chapters 5 and 6. Dummett's sentences didn't get any shorter for this one.

Evans, G. 1982: The Varieties of Reference (Oxford: Clarendon). See Chapter 1 (study pack), which gives a very quick, opinionated introduction to Frege. Evans defends a particular view of Frege which we'll be examining later in the module. Note that although this is very interesting, and deals in a concise way with the core of Frege's views, but some of it at least is not `introductory level' (i.e. bits of it are hard).

Frege, G. 1892: `On Sinn and Bedeutung', in Michael Beaney (ed.), The Frege Reader (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997), pp. 151-171 (study pack). Also reprinted: in Moore 1993 as `On Sense and Reference'; in P. Geach and M. Black (eds), Translations from the Philosophical Writings of Gottlob Frege (Oxford: Blackwell, 1952) as `On Sense and Meaning'; and in Martinich 1996 as `On Sense and Nominatum'.

Frege, G. `Thoughts'. Reprinted in Salmon, N. & S. Soames, eds, Propositions and Attitudes (OUP, 1998). An alternative translation can be found in P.F. Strawson, ed. Philosophical Logic (OUP, 1976).

Lycan, W. 2000: Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction (London: Routledge). Ch. 1 gives a very quick and clear introduction to the issues.

Noonan, H. 2001: Frege: A Critical Introduction (Cambridge: Polity/Blackwell). See Chapter 5. A plainly written introduction to the topic.

McCulloch, G. 1989: The Game of the Name: Introducing Logic, Language and Mind (Oxford: Clarendon). See Chapter 1. Very careful introduction, a little slow in places, but it goes a little deeper than most, working to make links with philosophy of mind and epistemology.

Miller, A. 1998: Philosophy of Language (London: Routledge). See Chapters 1 and Chapter 2 (excerpts in study pack). Another nice introduction to Frege, especially section 2.4, which describes some of the problems facing Fregean sense.

Sainsbury, M. 1995: `Philosophical Logic', section 1, in A.C. Grayling, ed. Philosophy: A Guide Through the Subject (OUP). A very good, very accessible introduction to philosophical logic with a short section on Frege.

Sainsbury, R. M. 2005: Reference without Referents. Oxford: Clarendon/OUP. Ch. 1, section 2 gives a very nice introduction to Frege on names. Note that Sainsbury goes on to defend an account of referring expressions which aims to allow that empty names can receive the same sort of treatment within our semantic theory as do normally functioning non-empty names.

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Taylor, K. 1998: Truth & Meaning: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language (Oxford: Blackwell). Ch. 1 gives nice, crisp, and clear introduction to Frege's puzzle of informative identities and Frege's response to the puzzle.

Russell on Definite Descriptions There are objections to Russell's theory that we haven't had time to look at in lectures and seminars. If you want to pursue the issue further see, for instance (in rough order of depth and complexity, with relatively shallow and simple first): Lycan 2000, pp. 31-2; Taylor 1998, II.5; Devitt and Hanley 2006, Ch. 18; Neale 1990, Chs 5?6.

Davies, M. 1981: Meaning, Quantification and Necessity: Themes in Philosophical Logic (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul). See Parts One and Two. This is quite `technical'; good, but for chip-heads.

Devitt, M. and R. Hanley 2006: The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Language (Oxford: Blackwell).

Donnellan, K. 1966: `Reference and Definite Descriptions', Philosophical Review. Excerpts in study pack. Reprinted in Martinich. (Read especially sections III and I.)

Evans, G. 1982: The Varieties of Reference (OUP/Clarendon). See Ch. 2.4. Note that most of the stuff on Russell in this book does not concern his theory of definite descriptions, but other ideas concerning singular terms.

Grice, H. P. 1961: `The Causal Theory of Perception', Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, supplementary volume 35. Buried away in this paper is Grice's first account of his view of conversation and the consequences of that view for ideas about word meaning.

Grice, H. P. 1967: `Logic and Conversation'. Reprinted in his Studies in the Way of Words (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989).

Kripke, S. 1977: `Speaker's Reference and Semantic Reference'. In P. French, T. Uehling, and H. Wettstein, eds, Studies in the Philosophy of Language (Midwest Studies in Philosophy). Note: Read especially (and first) pp. 261+. In this paper Kripke mounts a forceful attack on the idea that referential use can base a serious objection to Russell's account of the meaning of descriptions.

Larson, R. and G. Segal, 1995: Knowledge of Meaning: An Introduction to Semantic Theory (MIT). See Chs 7 to 9 for a very detailed account of how quantification and descriptions can be dealt with in a fully worked-out semantics.

Lycan, W. 2000: Philosophy of Language (London: Routledge). See Ch. 2. Conversational and laconic, but a pretty good introduction all the same.

Neale, S. 1990: Descriptions (MIT). Really good and really detailed exploration and defence of Russell's theory. See especially Chs 1 and 2.

Platts, M. 1979: Ways of Meaning: An Introduction to a Philosophy of Language (Routledge & Kegan Paul), chs. I and IV.

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Strawson, P. F. 1950: `On Referring', Mind 59. Reprinted in his LogicoLinguistic Papers (London: Metheun, 1971), in Moore1993, and in Martinich 1996. Excerpts in study pack.

Taylor, K. 1998: Truth & Meaning: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language (Oxford: Blackwell). See Ch. 2.

Kripke on Descriptions Theories of Names For a clear introductory sketch of the debate, see Lycan 2000/2008. Helpful overviews can be found in Sainsbury 1995, Sect. 1, Sainsbury 2005, Ch. 1, Sect. 4, and McCulloch 1989, esp. Ch. 4.

For the `tagged for wide scope' objection to Kripke's rigidity argument, see: Dummett 1981a, p. 112?135 and appendix to Ch. 5; Dummett 1981b, appendix 3; Dummett 1991, Ch. 2. The objection is discussed at length in Stanley 1997, esp. sections 4 to 7. The pieces by Dummett are interesting but difficult.

For Kripke's rejoinder to `tagged for wide scope', see the preface to the book edition of Naming and Necessity (Kripke 1980, pp. 6?15). On possible accounts of `Aristotle is Aristotle. That's necessary.' and their impact on Kripke's rejoinder, see Stanley 1997, section 6, including fn. 45.) For a discussion of rigidified descriptions, see Soames 2002, Ch. 2.

Burge, T. 1973: `Reference and Proper Names', Journal of Philosophy 70. Dummett, M. A. E. 1981a: Frege: Philosophy of Language, second edition. London:

Duckworth. Dummett, M. A. E. 1981b: The Interpretation of Frege's Philosophy. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press. Dummett, M. A. E. 1991: The Logical Basis of Metaphysics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press. Hale, B. and C. Wright, eds, 1997: A Companion to the Philosophy of Language

(Blackwell). Kaplan, D. 1989: `Afterthoughts', in J. Almog, J. Perry and H. Wettstein, eds, Themes

from Kaplan (OUP, 1989). Kripke, S. A. 1980: Naming and Necessity. Lycan, W. G. 2000(2nd edn. 2008): Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary

Introduction. London: Routledge. McCulloch, G. 1989: The Game of the Name: Introducing Logic, Language and Mind

(Oxford: Clarendon). Russell, B. 1918/1956: `The Philosophy of Logical Atomism'. In R. Marsh, ed. Logic

and Knowledge (London: Allen & Unwin, 1956). Sainsbury, M. 1995: `Philosophical Logic', in A.C. Grayling, ed. Philosophy: A Guide

Through the Subject (OUP). Sainsbury, R. M. 2005: Reference without Referents. Oxford: Clarendon/OUP. Ch. 1,

section 4 gives a very nice introduction to Kripke on names. Note that Sainsbury goes on to defend an account of referring expressions which aims to allow that

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empty names can receive the same sort of treatment within our semantic theory as do normally functioning non-empty names. Searle, J. R. 1958: `Proper Names', Mind 67. Reprinted in P. Ludlow, ed. Readings in the Philosophy of Language (MIT). This is the locus classicus of cluster theory. Soames, S. 2002: Beyond Rigidity (OUP). Stanley, J. 1997: `Names and Rigid Designation' in Hale and Wright. A very careful and clever examination of the issues around rigid designation.

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