Summary: What is the philosophy of language? How does the philosophy of language differ from linguistics, or from other branches of philosophy? Why do philosophers study language? What is the purpose of language? How does language relate to the mind, both of the speaker and the interpreter? How does language relate to the world? What is the nature of meaning? What is the relation between meaning and reference? How are sentences composed into a meaningful whole, and what are the meanings of the parts of sentences? Why do expressions have the meanings they have? How do words and sentences acquire meanings? Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 11) The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.
