PHIL2621: Semester 1, 2020

Units PHIL2621 Semester 1 2020 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

PHIL2621: Truth, Meaning and Language

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

This unit covers central issues in contemporary philosophy of language, such as the relationship between language and the world, the nature of meaning and truth, problems involved in interpreting and understanding the speech of others, the role of context in determining meaning, and the nature of metaphor.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Philosophy
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 Junior credit points in Philosophy
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	David Macarthur, david.macarthur@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	David Macarthur, david.macarthur@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Oliver Gordon, oliver.gordon@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Take home exercise A comprehension exercise aimed at demonstrating understanding.	35%	Week 08 Due date: 21 Apr 2020 at 23:59 Closing date: 29 May 2020	1500wd
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay A critical essay which engages with course readings and secondary lit.	50%	Week 14 (STUVAC) Due date: 05 Jun 2020 at 23:59 Closing date: 19 Jun 2020	2500wd
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Tutorial presentation 5-10 min presentation in tute. Submit 500 wd via Turn-it-In.	15%	Weekly Closing date: 29 May 2020	500wd
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Tutorial Presentation on a topic of your choice. 5-10 mins. Submit 500wd summary for grading.
Take Home Assignment. You will be given 6 questions of which you must answer on 3. Each answer has a 500wd limit (i.e. 1500wd total). The assignment tests your comprehension. You are not expected or required to engage in criticism or refer to secondary literature. Also long quotes are to be avoided. The aim is to demonstrate your understanding of key thinkers and their ideas.
Essay. This is a critical essay that demonstrates your learning and makes use of primary and secondary texts in its argument. 2500 wd limit.

Assessment criteria

High Distinction	When you meet the learning outcomes at an exceptional standard	85-100
Distinction	When you meet the learning outcomes at a very high standard	75-84
Credit	When you meet the learning outcomes at a good standard	65-74
Pass	When you meet the learning outcomes at acceptable standard	50-64
Fail	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes satisfactorily	0-49

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	What is a philosophical theory of meaning?	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 02	Representationalism	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Criticisms of Representationalism	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	Descriptivism: Pro & Con	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Ordinary Language Philosophy	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	What is the Data for OLP?	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	Pragmatics	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Psychologism	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Grice on Saying & Conversational Implicature	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Meaning as Use: Two Views	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Later Wittgenstein's Vision of Language	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Literal Language	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	Metaphor	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. This unit of study will introduce students to fundamental philosophical issues concerning meaning and language. The first half of the course will take an unorthodox route through ordinary language philosophy in order to recover its lost insights. In the second half we will consider scientific and transcendental versions of the idea that meaning is use. Generically, this unit of study should help to impart new forms of understanding (especially new ways of looking at ordinary language and questions of meaning), enhance critical thinking skills, and facilitate the ability to speak and write clearly, rationally and succinctly.
LO2. Read, understand and critically engage with philosophical texts both historical and contemporary.
LO3. Identify, formulate and assess philosophical problems and demonstrate an understanding of important conceptual distinctions.
LO4. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of important conceptual distinctions (such as truth vs knowledge, causation vs correlation, relativism vs pluralism) and an ability to apply them.
LO5. Express themselves precisely and demonstrate an ability to make rationally persuasive arguments.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

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