Summer course on "MEANING, CONTEXT, INTENTION"
Course dates: JULY 19-30, 2010
Location: Central European University (CEU), Budapest, Hungary,
Detailed course description:
http://www.summer.ceu.hu/meaning
Tuition fee: EUR 550. Financial aid is available.
*Application deadline: February 15, 2010*
Online application:
http://www.sun.ceu.hu/03-application/howto_apply.php
Course directors:
* Zsofia Zvolenszky, Eötvös University (ELTE), Institute of Philosophy,
Budapest, Hungary;
* Jason Stanley, Rutgers, Philosophy Department, New Brunswick, USA;
Faculty:
* Ray Buchanan, University of Texas, Philosophy Department, Austin,
USA
* Herman Cappelen, University of St Andrews, Department of Philosophy,
UK
* Wayne A. Davis, Georgetown University, Philosophy Department,
Washington DC, USA
* Katalin Farkas, Central European University, Philosophy
Department
* Ernest Lepore, Rutgers University, Center for Cognitive Science,
Rutgers University, New Brunswick US
* Stephen Neale, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, USA
*Craige Roberts, Ohio State University, Linguistics Department, Columbus,
USA
* Adam Sennet, University of California, Davis, Department of
Philosophy, USA
* Zoltan Gendler Szabo, Yale University, Department of Philosophy, USA
What we express, communicate by uttering a sentence varies with the
context of utterance. What is the role of semantics in bringing this
about? According to one simple model, a semantic theory assigns to
sentences relative to contexts what would be expressed by those
sentences in normal assertive utterances, by assigning values to the
meaningful parts of the sentences in those contexts and combining them
via a recursive process. According to another, radically different
model, the meanings of words are rules that constrain the use of
expressions, but there is no notion of what is said by a sentence (as
opposed to the person) that matches the speaker's communicative
intentions, and that plays a fundamental role in the account of
communication. There are many versions of each of these views of
linguistic communication. How we think about language is determined by
which we adopt. The purpose of this course is to bring together leading
researchers who have formed the debate, together with some younger
researchers with new approaches.
This summer school invites applications from junior faculty and doctoral
students at philosophy and linguistics departments. Minimum background
required: philosophy of language at the advanced undergraduate level.
Participants should ideally bring some work in progress related to the
course theme for discussion during the course.