Learning objectives
Students will acquire in-depth knowledge of crucial texts and problems in contemporary philosophy of language. By attending the course, they will also acquire analytical and evaluative skills, first and foremost at the logical-argumentative level, of the main philosophical theories tackled during the course. They will also develop their logical-argumentative and communicative skills with respect to the issues at the heart of the course. Moreover, they will acquire the ability to elaborate presentations and papers containing arguments in favor of their views. Finally, students will acquire decision-making skills, particularly in complex situations, which aren’t entirely analyzable in terms of codified scientific and technical knowledge.
Course unit content
De se immunity
The course will deal with the topic of the nature and main features of so-called ‘I-thoughts’ (or de se thoughts), viz. those thoughts which are canonically expressed by means of the first-person pronoun ‘I’. The course will be divided into two modules (so as to allow students, who might want to take up this opportunity, to take the “integrated” courses with professors in Parma and Ferrara). In the first module, we will introduce the topic of I-thoughts through Gottlob Frege’s essay “The Thought”. We will then move on to examining Bertrand Russell’s position in The problems of philosophy and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s position regarding first-person thoughts, from the Tractatus logico-philosophicus to the Philosophical Investigations, with special reference to his claim, in The Blue Book, that ‘I’ isn’t a genuinely referring expression. Wittgenstein held such a view on the basis of one peculiar feature of some uses of ‘I’, i.e. their being immune to error through misidentification. We will then consider Elisabeth Anscombe’s radicalization of that thesis in her paper “The First Person” and the criticism of that view proposed by Sydney Shoemaker in the late 1960’s.
In the second module of the course, which will be held in English, we will consider some recent developments of these themes, with special attention to the work of John Perry, Gareth Evans and François Recanati.
Bibliography
First module
Frege, G. 1918 “Il pensiero”, in Ricerche logiche, Milano, Guerini, 1988, pp. 43-74.
Russell, B. 1912 “Conoscenza diretta e conoscenza per descrizione”, in I problemi della filosofia, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2007, cap. 5.
Wittgenstein, L. 1921 Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Oxford, Blackwell, 5.6-5.641.
Wittgenstein, L. 1958 Il libro blu, Oxford, Blackwell, pp. 80-100.
Wittgenstein, L. 1953 Ricerche filosofiche, Torino, Einaudi, parr. 398-415.
Anscombe, E. 1975 “The first person”, in Cassam, Q. (a cura di) 1994 Self-Knowledge, Oxford, OUP, pp. 140-159.
Shoemaker, S. 1968 “Self-reference and self-awareness”, in Cassam, Q. (a cura di) 1994 Self-Knowledge, Oxford, OUP, pp. 80-93.
Reading List in English (for international students)
Frege, G. 1918 “The thought”, in Harnish, R. M. (ed.) 1994 Basic Topics in the Philosophy of Language, New York, Harvester, pp. 517-535.
Russell, B. 1912 “Knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description”, in The Problems of Philosophy, any printed edition (available on-line at http://www.ditext.com/russell/russell.html)
Wittgenstein, L. 1921 Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Oxford, Blackwell, 5.6-5.641.
Wittgenstein, L. 1958 The Blue Book, Oxford, Blackwell, pp. 58-74.
Wittgenstein, L. 1953 Philosophical Investigations, Oxford, Blackwell, sections 398-415.
Anscombe, E. 1975 “The first person”, in Cassam, Q. (ed.) 1994 Self-Knowledge, Oxford, OUP, pp. 140-159.
Shoemaker, S. 1968 “Self-reference and self-awareness”, in Cassam, Q. (ed.) 1994 Self-Knowledge, Oxford, OUP, pp. 80-93.
2nd Module
1) 1 paper a scelta tra/One paper to be chosen from:
a) Perry, J. 1977 “Frege on demonstratives”, in Yourgrau, P. (ed.) 1990 Demonstratives, Oxford, OUP, pp. 50-70.
b) Perry, J. 1979 “The problem of the essential indexical”, in Cassam, Q. (ed.) 1994 Self-Knowledge, Oxford, OUP, pp. 167-183.
2) Evans, G. 1982 “Self-identification”, in Cassam, Q. (ed.) 1994 Self-Knowledge, Oxford, OUP, pp. 184-209.
3) Recanati, 2012 “Frege and the sense of ‘I’”, Mental Files, Oxford, OUP, cap. 16.
4) 1 paper a scelta tra/One paper to be chosen from:
a) Coliva, A. 2003 “Error through misidentification, the distinction between speaker’s and semantic reference and the real guarantee”, The Journal of Philosophy, C, 8, pp. 416-431.
b) Coliva, A 2006 “Error through misidentification. Some varieties”, The Journal of Philosophy, CIII, 8, pp. 403-425.
c) Coliva, A. 2012 “Which key to all mythologies about the self?”, in F. Recanati & S. Prosser (eds.) Immunity to Error through Misidentification. New Essays, Cambridge, CUP, pp. 22-45.
5) Un paper a scelta tra/One paper to be chosen from:
a) Campbell, J. 1999 "Schizophrenia, the space of reasons and thinking as a motor process”, The Monist 82, pp. 609-625. (Available on-line at
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~jcampbel/documents/Schizophrenia.pdf)
b) Coliva, A. 2002 “Thought Insertion and Immunity to Error through Misidentification”, “On What There Really is to Our Notion of the Ownership of a Thought. A Reply to John Campbell”, Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology, 9, pp. 27-34; 41-46 (Available on-line at “Spazi condivisi”).
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminars. The former will provide students with all necessary elements for a full comprehension of the course topics. The latter will consist in students’ presentations and discussions of some specific aspects of course, under the guidance of the course instructor.
Assessment methods and criteria
Students who take both modules
Students who attend the course: Either two essays of 3000 words each (in Italian or in English), bibliographical references excluded, on two different topics of their choosing, previously agreed with the course instructor, and an oral discussion of the essays and the main topics of the course. Or else, only one essay of 6000 words (in Italian or in English), bibliographical references excluded, on a topic of their choosing, previously agreed with the course instructor, and an oral discussion of the essay and the main topics of the course.
Students who don’t attend the course: oral examination on the overall course program.
Students who take only one module
Students who attend the module: one essay of 3000 words (in Italian or in English), bibliographical references excluded, on a topic of their choosing, previously agreed with the course instructor, and an oral discussion of the essay and the main topics of the module.
Students who don’t attend the module: oral examination on the overall program of the module.
International students
International students who may not be able to follow the first part of the course in Italian will be allowed to take the whole exam, if they so wish, by writing two essays in English (of 3000 words each, bibliographical references excluded) on a topic of their choosing, previously agreed with the course instructor, concerning the first and the second part of the course respectively.
If they prefer to take only one module, they will be required to write just one essay in English (of 3000 words, bibliographical references excluded) on a topic of their choosing, previously agreed with the course instructor, concerning the module.
Evaluation criteria
Threshold for 18: sufficient comprehension of the topics, sufficient expository clarity and sufficient competence in the use of the philosophical vocabulary.
Threshold for 24: discrete comprehension of the topics, discrete expository clarity and discrete competence in the use of the philosophical vocabulary.
Threshold for 27: good comprehension of the topics, good expository clarity and good competence in the use of the philosophical vocabulary.
Threshold for 30: excellent comprehension of the topics, excellent expository clarity and excellent competence in the use of the philosophical vocabulary.
Threshold for 30 cum laude: as for 30, plus elements of originality (e.g. critical assessment of the course topics or new personal contribution to them) and/or particularly in-depth analysis of the course topics.
Students who take an integrated course: the mark obtained in one of the modules of the present course will count 50% of the overall mark. (The other 50% will be the mark obtained in the module of the course with which students will take the integrated course).
