Philosophy of Language: Foundation and Applications

This course addresses fundamental issues and theories within contemporary analytical philosophy of language, and addresses questions about the theories' application and relevance for social analysis.

The course is given as a stand-alone 7.5-credit course, but can also be credited as a module in Theoretical Philosophy II 30 credits, Theoretical Philosophy – Bachelor's course 30 credits, and Theoretical Philosophy – Bachelor's course within the Bachelor's program in Logic, Philosophy and Mathematics 30 credits.

Registration
Emails will be sent out to all admitted students well in advance of the course start, with information and instructions. Admitted students are expected to register themselves (web registration).

More about the course content: In this course, we are going to look at a number of foundational issues in the philosophy of language. One such question concerns what meaning even is. Another concerns how it is determined: Why is it that the expressions of the natural languages we speak have any meaning at all? And what determines that they have the meanings they do? Could this possibly be indeterminate? Among other things, we are going to discuss radical interpretation, rule-following, and the normativity of meaning. We will also investigate the nature of the speech act of assertion, its social significance, and the general significance of the socio-political aspects of language for foundational questions about meaning.

Learning platform: Reading instructions, detailed course planning, etc. will be posted on the course's Canvas page. Admitted students who have activated their student account and have been registered for the course will automatically become participants on the course's Canvas page.

Teacher and examiner autumn semester 2026: Kathrin Glüer-Pagin

Language of instruction autumn semester 2026: English

For other information about the course (teaching method, expected learning outcomes, attendance requirements, examination method, grading scale, etc.), see the course syllabus.

The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.
Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.
Course reports are displayed for the three most recent course instances.

Director of Studies Mattias Högström mattias.hogstrom@philosophy.su.se

Study Councelling studievagledning@philosophy.su.se

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