Philosophy 4190.01

Philosophy of Language

Instructor: Brad Rettler
Delivery Method:
Traditional In Person
Meeting Times:
R 3:10p -5:40p

If Aristotle were alive today, he would have a better chance at winning the Nobel Prize in Physics than he would at winning Dancing with the Stars. You’ve (almost certainly) never read or heard that sentence before, but you understood it immediately, because you know what each of the words means and you know how to combine the meanings of words to grasp the meanings of sentences. But how?! In this course, we’ll read both classic and contemporary work from the philosophy of language to explore the meanings of words, how conversational context contributes to meaning, the role that semantics and pragmatics play in giving a theory of language, and the differences between stated, presupposed, and implicated information. We’ll conclude by applying these theories to the case of humor and slurs.

Link to the Printable Course Flyer (PDF)

an image of the course flyer
Contact Us

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Ross Hall Rm. #223

1000 E. University Ave.

Dept. #3392

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-3204

Email: relstudies@uwyo.edu

Email: philosophy@uwyo.edu

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