Indexicality · PHIL 281

About the seminar

This seminar will investigate the nature of indexicality. We will start with the semantics of indexicality, with an emphasis on the sign, content, and truth. It involves the discussion of three kinds of semantics representation: icon, symbol, and index. We will explore different types of indexicality, including I, you, that, mental indexicality, pointing, arrows, perception, context-sensitivity. We will examine the nature of content: reference, sense, concepts, character, content and beyond.

Schedule

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Date	Topic	Reading	Recommended
Tue10/2	Session 1What is semantics? Introduction to Semantics Reading notes: The Portner reading is intended to (re)introduce you to the key concepts of semantics and the method of semantic analysis. Please keep track of any technical questions you may have as you read. In class on Tuesday, we'll use these ideas to develop a formal semantics for Predicate Logic (without quantification). As you read, keep track of... Key concepts: meaning, concept, entailment, truth-condition, truth-value, possible world, expression, proposition, object language v. meta-language, reference, denotation, predicate, argument, compositionality.	Portner (2005) “Ch 1, Ch 2 (skip 2.5), Ch3 (3.6 and 3.7 only)”	Jacobson (2014) Section 1.5 “Sets and Functions”
Tue10/9	Session 2Demonstratives I Demonstratives I	Kaplan (1989) “Demonstratives”, 481-524	—
Tue10/16	Session 3Demonstratives II Demonstratives II	Kaplan (1989) “Demonstratives”, 524-563	—
Tue10/23	Session 4Demonstratives III Afterthoughts Paper 1 due 11/4: Short paper (5pgs) on Kaplan on demonstratives. One short meeting with me before this date.	Kaplan (1989) “Afterthoughts”	—
Tue11/13	Session 5aMental Indexicals I Mental Indexicals I	Perry (1979) “The Problem of the Essential Indexical”	—
Thu11/15	Session 5bMental Indexicals II Mental Indexicals II	Millikan (2012) “Are There Mental Indexicals and Demonstratives?”	—
Tue11/20	Session 6Indexicality in semiotics Indexicality in Semiotics	Deacon (1997) “Symbols aren’t simple”	—
Tue11/27	Session 7Arrows and Pointing Arrows and Pointing	Alihkani and Stone (2018) “Arrows are the Verbs of Diagrams” Kaplan (G) (2011) “Pointing gesture in a bird- merely instrumental or a cognitively complex behavior?”	Optional Kranstedt et al. (2005) “Deixis: How to Determine Demonstrated Objects Using a Pointing Cone”
Tue12/4	Session 8Context sensitivity Context and Language	Lewis “Scorekeeping in a Language Game”	—
Tue12/11	Session 9Parting thoughts Parting thoughts Paper 2 due 1/4: Longer paper (15-20 pgs) on a topic related to indexicality.	—	—

Requirements

Paper 1: Short paper (5pgs) on Kaplan on demonstratives, due 11/4. One short meeting with me before this date.
Paper 2: Longer paper (15-20 pgs) on a topic related to indexicality, due 1/4.