Introduction to Philosophy of Language

As taught in: Spring 2006

Illustration of a girl with chicken pox and a boy watching a clock.

This illustration is based on H.P. Grice's definitions of meaning. He divided meaning into two categories: natural and nonnatural. According to Grice, nonnatural meaning depends on people's intentions in a way that natural meaning does not. (Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.)

Instructors:

Prof. Agustín Rayo

MIT Course Number:

24.251

Level:

Undergraduate

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the philosophy of language. It examines different views on the nature of meaning, truth and reference, with special focus on the problem of understanding how linguistic communication works.