Event Timeslots (1)
Tuesday
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One central and still open question in pragmatics concerns the role of Theory of Mind (ToM)--understood as the ability to attribute mental states such as beliefs and intentions to oneself and others--in the interpretation and production of meaning. Within the Gricean framework (Grice, 1975), this ability is taken to be essential for pragmatic inferencing of all kinds, including the derivation of implicatures, reference resolution, the interpretation of irony, metaphor, and indirect requests. However, the precise role that ToM plays in pragmatic inference remains debated.
This journal paper-based seminar focuses on the role of ToM in pragmatics, with particular emphasis on the notion of perspective-taking--the process by which speakers and hearers represent others' mental states by adopting their perspective--and its function in communication. The seminar combines theoretical and experimental readings that examine how perspective-taking contributes to pragmatic understanding and language use.
The course is particularly suitable for master's students and advanced bachelor students in cognitive science and philosophy, especially those with an interest in empirically oriented approaches to the philosophy of language and mind.
Literature: selected articles (to be provided)
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In Cole, P. and Morgan, J. L., editors, Syntax and Semantics, volume 3 of Speech Acts, pages 41-58. Academic Press, New York. Reprinted in Studies in the Way of Words.
Requirements for passing (3CP): Active participation and a presentation in class
Graded (6CP): An individual or a team project/ extended second presentation