Some Ideas for Paper Topics
Philosophy of Language
1. Evaluate Grice’s general project of reducing utterance meaning to speaker meaning. How
might Grice respond to Lycan’s objections to this theory? Are there better objections?
2. Evaluate Grice’s theory of implicature. How might Grice respond to Lycan’s objections to
this theory? Are there better objections?
3. How might Frege respond to Field’s objections to meanings?
4. How might Frege respond to Quine’s objections to meanings?
5. Is meaning relational? Present and evaluate some arguments for and against the relational
theory of meaning, and defend one side of the debate.
6. Is belief relational? You might tie this topic into the topic of whether meaning is relational.
7. Supposing there are such things as propositions, what sorts of things are they?
8. Evaluate Lycan’s objection/response debate over propositions in his Chapter 5.
9. Examine Russell's “Name Claim,” that ordinary proper names abbreviate definite
descriptions. What objections can be made against that doctrine? How might Russell reply
in his own defense? Do you think Russell is right? If not, do you have a better way of
understanding proper names?
10. Conduct your own assessment of Russell's Theory of Descriptions. (i) Is the Theory credible
in its own right? To what extent does the Theory correctly predict and explain the use of `the'
in English? Or, (ii) does the Theory in fact solve the Problem of Apparent Reference to
Nonexistents, whether or not the solution is satisfactory?
11. Pursue the Russell-Strawson dispute. Choose one or two of Strawson's criticisms and, for
each: Briefly state the claim or assumption of Russell's that Strawson is disputing; set out
Strawson's argument as clearly and convincingly as you can; then evaluate the argument, and
do what you can towards adjudicating the issue.
12. Critically examine Frege’s view of names. Evaluate some arguments for and against it and
defend your own view of the issue.
13. Critically examine Russell’s view of names. Evaluate some arguments for and against it and
defend your own view of the issue.
14. Critically examine Mill’s view of names. Evaluate some arguments for and against it and
defend your own view of the issue
15. Respond on Kripke's behalf to Evans' counterexamples. Or, discuss any one or two of the
examples in detail.
16. Critically examine Russell’s view of definite descriptions. Evaluate some arguments for and
against it and defend your own view of the issue.
17. Critically examine Strawson’s view of definite descriptions. Evaluate some arguments for
and against it and defend your own view of the issue.
18. Critique externalism by explaining away the externalist thought experiments within an
internalist framework.
19. Defend externalism by explaining how it is that external features influence content.
20. Does externalism threaten Grice’s Intention-Based Semantics?
21. Propose your own topic to me.