The course deals, from a philosophical and linguistic point of view, with the relationship between verbal language and the human mind.
The course of Language and Mind addresses, from a philosophical and linguistic point of view, the relationship between verbal language and the human mind. The aim of the course is to introduce students to some of the central problems and topics of the philosophy of language such as, for example, the nature of linguistic contents and mental states, the relationship between thought and linguistic comprehension, the problem of reference and meaning of linguistic expressions and the relationship between our inferential abilities and verbal communication. These problems will be addressed by showing the connections with linguistics, logic, psychology and the neurosciences of language.
At the end of the course the student will know the main theoretical models on the relationship between the human mind and verbal language. Furthermore, students will be able to critically discuss philosophy of language problems, using both the tools of traditional philosophical research and those of experimental psychology and neuroscience.
The student will acquire the competence to start the independent study of essays on philosophy of language, linguistics and experimental psychology.
Further educational objectives: (i) Acquire a greater ability to manage one's social interactions with a collaborative attitude, constructive communication and dialogical skills. (ii) Demonstrate work autonomy, ability to manage primary literature, argumentative ability and collaborative, coordination and negotiation attitude.
Teaching presupposes knowledge of the philosophy of language. The course is recommended for students who have taken the philosophy of language or language theory exam. Attendance is strongly recommended.
The course will alternate lectures held by the teacher with presentations in class held by the attending students.
Students are required to register on Aulaweb, where useful materials for the course will be uploaded.
This year, the course is dedicated to the relationship between pragmatics, mind and brain.
In the first part of the course, the main philosophical theories on the relationship between verbal language and its use in context will be introduced. In particular, the main themes of pragmatics will be presented: the implicit, linguistic acts, presuppositions, contextual dependence, metaphor and figurative language, sarcasm and conversational mechanisms.
In the second part of the course, the close relationship between philosophical theories on verbal language and the most recent experimental data in the field of cognitive psychology and language neuroscience will be illustrated. More specifically, the goal of the second part of the course is to teach students how to interpret experimental data and to understand when and to what extent they can constitute a source of empirical evidence useful for developing philosophical theories on language.
Foreign students are kindly required to contact Professor Domaneschi for the bibliography.
Ricevimento: Prof. Filippo Domaneschi Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Via Balbi 30 - 7° floor, 16126 Genoa (Italy). For any question concerning lectures: filippo.domaneschi@unige.it
FILIPPO DOMANESCHI (President)
MARCELLO FRIXIONE
DANIELE PORELLO (Substitute)
MASSIMILIANO VIGNOLO (Substitute)
26th February, 2024
