PHL2120

Language, truth and power

(ART)

Karen Green

8 points + 3 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in philosophy or comparative literature, cultural studies and critical theory or linguistics

Synopsis: An introduction to structuralist and analytic approaches to language, meaning and truth. Covers the referential semantics of Frege and Russell, Wittgenstein's language games, Whorf on linguistic relativity, Saussure's theory of signs, Foucault on truth and power and Heiegger's alethia. Various views concerning truth will be discussed including the correrspondence theory and the position that truth is power.

Assessment: Two essays (2500 words) or essay and exam (2 hours): 40% each + Examination (1 hour): 20%