A kurzus kódjai: 

Course codes for the first half of the semester (Sept.–Nov.):

BBN-FIL-312.03; BBN-FIL-402.87; 
BMA-FILD-312.03;  BMA-FILD-402.86; BMA-LOTD-406; BMI-LOTD-406E; 
TANM-FIL-312.03; TANM-FIL-402.02 ;
FLN-350.05

Course codes for the second half of the semester (Nov.–Dec.):

BBN-FIL-311.04; BBN-FIL-401.13;
BMA-FILD-311.04; BMA-FILD-401.13; BMA-LOTD-202.04; BMI-LOTD-202E.04;
TANM-FIL-311.03; TANM-FIL-401.06;
FLN-300.13

Double-credit course code for the entire semester:
BMA-FILD-602.01
	
A kurzus megnevezése: Theories of Meaning	
A kurzus megnevezése angolul: Theories of Meaning	
A kurzus előadója: Zsófia Zvolenszky 	
A kurzus helye és ideje: (meeting time and place for the course) MÚK 4/i 224, Thursday 14:00-17:00	
Oktató elérhetősége: 
email: zvolenszky@elte.hu
url: phil.elte.hu/zvolenszky 
office hours: MÚK 4/i 224 (ELTE BTK Institute of Philosophy, Department of Logic)
Thursday 17:00–18:30

First seminar: September 24th (please note: the course starts rather late)	

A kurzus előfeltétele(i): 
Prerequisites:
– Students should be prepared to read and discuss materials in English. The language of instruction for the course is English.
– If this is your first course in philosophy: the instructor’s permission is required for taking the course. Please contact the instructor by email if you are interested in taking this course.

This is a double-feature seminar (3 hours weekly with a break in the middle) for which you can register by taking a seminar-colloquium pair (see the codes listed at the top). 

The first half of the semester (through mid-November) is an introduction to the philosophy of language; the second half (starting mid-November) will explore advanced topics in the philosophy of language. Depending on students’ background, they may register for both halves of the course, or just one of them. The first half by itself is the equivalent of an introductory philosophy of language course. To take only the second, “advanced topics” half of the course (which starts on November 12th) the instructor’s prior permission is required (you can contact the instructor by email). 	
Követelmények:
Requirements:
– 30–40 pages of reading each week 
– at the beginning of (almost) every seminar, a short quiz (the 7 highest scores count towards 20% of the final grade)
– posting 2 questions/comments at the course discussion forum each week (the 7 best make up 20 % of the final grade)  
– class participation (worth 15 %)
– writing 4 short (2-3-page-long) response papers during the semester (the best 3 of these go towards 30 % of the final grade)
– once during the semester, acting as MC (Master of Ceremonies) (this involves briefly introducing the readings as well as students’ questions and comments, worth 15%)
	
A jegyszerzés módja(i): research seminar in English
	
Kurzus leírása, tematikája: 
Course description:
Our words, sentences are about—refer to—things in the world: objects, people, events. Plausibly, the meanings of expressions play a central role in explaining this referential feature: for example, it is in virtue of the meaning of the word ’horse’ that it refers to horses. But what exactly does this role played by meaning consist in? The answer is not at all straightforward. Consider these two sentences: 

Mark Twain was a famous novelist. 
Samuel Clemens was a famous novelist.

How does the meaning of the first sentence differ from the meaning of the second? After all, both are about the same individual: who was called Samuel Clemens but became famous under the pseudonym ‘Mark Twain’. Yet—according to Gottlob Frege—the two sentences cannot have the same meaning because someone may rationally believe one (the first, say), without believing the other. This is what Frege’s “puzzle” consists in, providing the starting point for 20th-century philosophy of language. In the seminar, our aim is to gain a greater understanding of the nature of meaning, and its relation to reference, truth, communication.

The first half of the semester (through early November) is an introduction to the philosophy of language through seminal texts (mostly) from the 20th century. The second half (starting mid-November) will explore advanced topics on meaning, reference and communication, exploring contemporary texts. Topics will be chosen in part based on participating students’ interests. Depending on students’ background, they may register for both halves of the course, or just one of them (see under “Prerequisites”).

A kurzushoz tartozó kötelező irodalom: 

Readings for the first half of the semester:
Alongside seminal texts in the philosophy of language From Austin, Frege, Grice, Kripke, Putnam, Russell and Strawson, two more readings will function as “textbooks”: 
•	William Lycan (ed.) 2000: Philosophy of Language: A Contemporary Introduction, London: Routledge.
•	Jason Stanley 2008: Philosophy of Language in the 20th Century. In Dermot Moran (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Twentieth Century Philosophy, London: Routledge, 382–437.

The bulk of the articles can be found in the following anthology: 
•	P. Martinich (ed.) 1996 : The Philosophy of Language. Oxford: OUP.

Readings for the second half of the semester:
Selected contemporary texts from the philosophy of language on meaning, reference, communication. Topics will be chosen in part based on participating students’ interests.  

The instructor will make the readings available to participating students.