The study of language represents one of the most fertile areas of research in contemporary philosophy, which is why its findings have been particularly influential in the disciplines that make up this degree program.
The course aims to help students acquire the basic competencies necessary to analyze, assess, and make well-founded judgments regarding the social implications of various communicative situations.
To achieve this, we will examine the main mechanisms of argumentation at work in the professional fields of the humanities, politics, and economics, all within the framework of a knowledge- and technology-based society.
Emphasis will be placed on the analytical and inductive nature of theoretical content about language, starting from the social realities constructed through the various types of discourse that define today?s professional world.
UNIT 1: THEORY OF LANGUAGE
Topic 1: General Introduction
1.1 Language as a human phenomenon
1.2 Language and culture: the origins of language
1.3 The linguistic turn and contemporary philosophy
Topic 2: Semiotics
2.1 Semiotics and philosophy of language
2.2 Signs, concepts, and things
2.3 Meaning and communication
2.4 Theory of codes
Topic 3: Semantics
3.1 Basic notions: sentences, utterances, propositions
3.2 Sense and reference
3.3 Philosophical semantics: referentialism and language games
3.4 Linguistic semantics: structuralism, pragmatics, and cognitivism
3.5 A realistic semantics?
Topic 4: Pragmatics
4.1 Enunciation and utterance
4.2 Discourse and facts. Referential expressions
4.3 Speech acts: illocutionary, perlocutionary, and performative
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UNIT 2: ARGUMENTATION
Topic 5: Communication and Dialogue
5.1 Conversation and the principle of cooperation: H.P. Grice
5.2 Relevance theory: Deirdre Wilson and Dan Sperber
5.3 The limits of argumentation: agreement and truth
5.4 Argumentative techniques: analogy, dissociation, and interaction
5.5 Argumentation in the age of social media: Twitter, Facebook...
Topic 6: Rhetoric and Argumentation
6.1 Definition of Rhetoric: persuasion and conviction
6.2 Subject matter, genres, and parts. Judicial, deliberative, and demonstrative genres
6.3 Inventio: narration and argumentation
6.4 Dispositio: natural order and artificial order
6.5 Memoria and actio: pragmatic dimensions
Expository method:
Presentation of theoretical content through lectures and supporting materials on the online platform (selected readings from the suggested bibliography, etc.).
Text and document analysis:
Individual reading of materials covering key course content. Individual preparation and group discussion sessions (in person or online).
Debate method:
In addition to participating in lectures and critically analyzing source materials, students will be expected to test their knowledge intersubjectively through supervised debates. These will help bring course content to life and make it more accessible, always in dialogue with the student?s social and historical context.
Oral presentation methods:
Student-led presentations and discussions, encouraging peer interaction moderated by the instructor.
Written presentation methods:
At the end of each unit, students will respond to a questionnaire on the platform. This will allow them to consolidate and deepen their understanding of the material through reflective, personal writing.
Tutorials:
To personalize the learning process, a schedule of tutorials will be offered, where students can ask questions, explore new topics, review assignments, and maintain a continuous learning approach.
Regular call:
To be evaluated in the regular call, students must complete all assessed activities. These must be submitted by the deadlines set by the instructor. If, for a justified and previously communicated reason, a student cannot submit the work on time, it may still be submitted before the final exam date. However, in that case, the instructor is not obligated to provide feedback.
Students have the right to take the final written exam even if they have not submitted all other activities, but the final course grade will only be calculated if all required activities have been completed, in accordance with the evaluation criteria and weighting outlined in this syllabus. Failure to submit or complete any assessed activity will result in a ?Not submitted? (?No presentado?) on the record.
Resit call:
The evaluation criteria are the same as for the regular call. All required course activities must be submitted. Grades from previously completed activities (including the final exam) will be retained until pending activities are completed. The same weighting criteria will apply as in the regular evaluation.
This rule applies only for the current academic year. If a student fails the resit, they will need to retake the entire course in future enrolments.
? Written exam: 40%
? Task analysis: 35%
? Group work: 25%
U. Eco, Tratado de semiótica general, Barcelona. Lumen, 2000.
J. Lyons, Introducción al lenguaje y a la lingu?ística, Barcelona: Teide, 1993.
Ch. S. Peirce, Obra lógico-filosófica, Madrid: Taurus, 1987.
Ch. Perelman L. Olbrechts-Tyteca, Tratado de la argumentación: la nueva retórica, Madrid: Gredos, 1989.
R. Rorty, El giro lingu?ístico. Barcelona: Paidós, 1990.
F. de Saussure, Curso de lingu?ística general, Bueno Aires, Losada, 2007.
J. Searle, Actos de habla: ensayo de filosofía del lenguaje, Madrid: Cátedra, 1990.
L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logicus-Philosophicus. Investigaciones Filosóficas. Madrid: Gredos, 2017.
F. Conesa y J. Nubiola, Filosofía del lenguaje, Barcelona: Herder, 1999.
J. J. Acero et al., Introducción a la filosofía del lenguaje, Madrid, Cátedra, 1996.
J. Austin, Cómo hacer cosas con las palabras. Barcelona: Paidós, 2016.
K. Bu?hler, Teoría del lenguaje, Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1996.
J. Courtès, Semiótica. Diccionario razonado de la Teoría del Lenguaje. Madrid: Gredos, 2004.
F. D'Agostini, Analíticos y continentales. Madrid: Cátedra, 2018.
M. Dovry, S. Moirand (eds.), La argumentación, hoy: encuentro entre perspectivas teóricas. Barcelona: Montesinos, 2008.
U. Eco, Tratado general de semiótica. Barcelona: Lumen, 2000.
M. García-Carpintero, Relatar lo ocurrido como invención. Una introducción a la filosofía de la ficción contemporánea. Madrid: Cátedra, 2016.
J. García del Muro, Good bye, verdad: una aproximación a la posverdad. Lleida: Editorial Milenio, 2019.
H. P. Grice, Studies in the ways of words. Cambridge MA, Harvard U. P., 1989.
R. Marafioti, Teoría de la argumentación: a 50 años de Perelman y Toulmin. Buenos Aires: Biblos, 2010.