Language allows us to gain information about the world and interact with other people. This course asks questions such as: What is language and meaning? In what sense are words about things in the world? What determines the meanings of words? What is it to communicate with language and to understand it? How can language be used to achieve goals, such as promising, commanding, making vows or declaring a pandemic? How can language be misused in a society, for example in media or politics?

This course introduces key areas in the philosophy of language – also drawing on resources from linguistics and psychology – that concern language, meaning and communication, and discusses more in-depth some selected topics.

The first part of the course focuses on:

• What language is
• What meaning is and how it is determined
• The relation between meaning, truth and the world
• The difference between literal and intended meaning
• The role of context in communication
• How language can be used to imply things beyond what was said and to achieve goals beyond communicating

An in-depth introduction to one or several selected areas (may be subject to change from one year to another):

• The relation between language and mind
• Language as a foundation for thinking and rationality
• How language can be misused in a society, looking at selected linguistic phenomena of high social importance, such as hate speech or propaganda
• How we experience language and the speaker
• The role of trust in communication