Professor Shaughan Lavine

Philosophy 596L	Spring 2010
Tuesday 4:00 P.M.–6:30 P.M.	311 Social Sciences Building

Here is the official course description:
PHIL 596L -- Philosophy of Language (3 units)
Description: The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.
Grading: Regular or alternative grades can be awarded for this course: A B C D E or S P C D E. May be repeated: for credit 2 times (maximum 3 enrollments).
Usually offered: Fall, Spring.

A syllabus may be viewed by the University as a document that in certain circumstances may have contractual force. Faculty members have therefore been requested to include various notifications and disclosures in every syllabus. That is the reason for the legalistic tone of portions of this document. Most announced policies may be subject to reasonable modification when circumstances warrant. If you are in doubt, feel free to ask!

The topics we cover will be largely up to the course registrants: we shall discuss each registrant's work after discussing any recommended background material. My own interest in teaching this course is in radical understanding: an umbrella term I have coined to cover Quine, Davidson, Lewis, and my own theories of radical translation, radical interpretation, and radical communication. I have therefore posted some tentative readings on those topics, but they are subject to revision depending on the interests and backgrounds of the course registrants.

Please note that all information contained in this course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as Professor Lavine deems appropriate.

I shall post lecture notes (what I have put up in class) online on the course web page: http://dingo.sbs.arizona.edu/~slavine/Courses/PhilosophyofLanguage.html.

I shall expect you to prepare to actively participate in discussion in each class by writing and submitting (preferably by email before class) a two-page reaction to the assigned readings for the class.

There will be three required typed, double-spaced papers. The first will accompany a presentation in class. The second will be a response to the paper and presentation of another student. The third paper, a term paper, will normally be a revised and lengthened version of the first paper, taking responses to it into account. When you hand in a paper, keep a copy. In addition,

Papers

The papers will be on topics of your choice so long as they concern the philosophy of language. I shall expect you to moderate class discussion of appropriate background readings and to present a draft of each of your papers. Make a draft of your paper available to the class on the Friday before your presentation concerning it. The final version of the paper will be due two weeks after the presentation or on the last day of class, whichever is sooner.

List all works you have consulted in a bibliography with additional acknowledgment given to any writer who influenced your thinking. If you quote from any work, or paraphrase it, you must note explicitly that you have done so—in the case of direct quotation, the use of quotation marks will suffice. Failure to acknowledge sources or to note quotation or paraphrase constitutes plagiarism—intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise, which is the ultimate academic crime—see the Code of Conduct in the ABOR Policy Manual, beginning at 5-301.C.¹ Any cheating, fabrication, or plagiarism may result in a failing grade for the work concerned or for the course, at Professor Lavine's discretion, and he may recommend additional penalties ranging from making the infraction a permanent part of your academic record to expulsion from the University, in accordance with the UA Code of Academic Integrity.

Attend class. Be prompt. Participate. Ask questions. Make use of office hours and of the web site. If you are not at ease contributing regularly to class discussions, consider preparing your contributions in advance. You might write down any questions, comments, or criticisms you have concerning the readings and use those to initiate discussion. I recommend that you talk among yourselves about the readings both before and after class.

You need a good excuse to miss class: giving each other feedback is of the essence of the course. All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion. Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean's designee) will be honored.

I expect acceptable classroom behavior at all times. Disruptive or threatening behavior may result in disciplinary procedures leading to severe penalties. See the UA Policy on Threatening Behavior by Students, and documents referenced therein.

Students with physical, psychological, or learning disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations in this course are encouraged to register with the S.A.L.T. Center or the Disability Resource Center.

Students with special needs who are registered with the S.A.L.T. Center or the Disability Resource Center are reminded that they must submit appropriate documentation to Professor Lavine as soon as possible if they are requesting special accommodations.

Each of the two papers including your presentations on them will count for 40% of your course grade. Your participation in class will be the remaining 20%.

If you wish to delay a scheduled presentation or paper, you must get approval at least one week before. Otherwise, short of serious medical excuses with written documentation, late work may result in grading penalties.

If you believe that a mistake has been made in grading, you must put your reasons for thinking so in writing and then submit them within one week from the time the grade was given to you. All grades that have not been appealed will be considered final after one week. No oral appeals of grades will be considered. If there is still a problem after receiving a response to your appeal, you may then discuss the grade with Professor Lavine.

My office hours are for your benefit. I encourage you to come, whether to talk about the readings, the class discussions, or the papers. You are particularly strongly encouraged to discuss the paper topics and comments on your finished papers. Individual discussions usually result in more learning than classes alone. Use the opportunity.

Shaughan Lavine's office hours are 9:00 A.M.–11:00 A.M. Thursdays in room 208 Social Sciences or by appointment. Feel free to come up after the class to make an appointment. His telephone number is 621-7109, and he may be reached outside of office hours by leaving a message at the department office, 621-3120, or by e-mail, shaughan@arizonaREMOVE.edu.

19 January

First Day.

26 January

Chapters 6–8, pp. 166–267. A copy is available in the Philosophy Department office. That is a lot of reading for a single week, but it is primarily intended to provide an overview of what follows. We shall discuss Glock's views presented in the reading later in the course if time permits.

2 February

Chapter 2, pp. 26–79. A pdf is available on D2L.

9 February

A metametaphysical interlude

16 February

23 February

Chapter 7, pp. 62–77. A copy is available on D2L. The Austin chapter should have been on the reading for last week, but I inadvertently omitted it.

My draft of a related article is on D2L.

Back to Radical Translation

2 March

9 March

A pdf is available on D2L.

16 March

Spring Break.

23 March

Radical Communication

30 March

A pdf is available on D2L.

6 April

13 April

20 April

27 April

1 May

4 May

-- ShaughanLavine - 18 Jan 2010