Title of the project: Predication, Context and Relativism

PIs: Paolo Leonardi, Sebastiano Moruzzi

AIs: Massimilano Carrara, Walter Cavini, Annalisa Coliva, Vittorio Morato, Eva Picardi,Marco Santambrogio, Marina Sbisà, Giuseppe Spolaore, Giorgio Volpe, Eugenio Orlandelli, Michele Palmira

PhD and Master students: Luca Zanetti, Francesco Spada

External researchers: Francesco Berto, Richard Dietz, Daniele Mezzadri, Dag Westerståhl

Title of the project: Predication, Context and Relativism

Scientific aim of the project

The project in Philosophy of Language will focus on the problem of predication, on contextualism and minimalism in semantics and on whether the concept of truth requires a relativistic treatment. More specifically it will consider:

•  The nature of predication:
• how to account for the unity of the sentence;
• truth and predication.
• Context dependence and shared content:
• how far parameters related to the context of use impact on the semantics of natural languages?
• is semantic invariantism (minimalism) the only proper response to the problem of shared content?
• what is the impact of semantic invariantism on metaphysics?
• Relative truth:
• how forms of truth-relativism are there?
• what are the arguments in favour of truth-relativism?
• is truth-relativism a stable position?
• How is semantic relativism connected to the classical doctrine(s) and related problem(s) of relativism?
• What is the role of semantics in assessing classical philosophical problems such as skepticism or the idea that truth is perspectival?

Methodology

In the second semester of the academic year 2008-2009, the section of Philosophy of Language group based in Bologna will hold twice a week a reading group and a research seminar until end of June (reading list). The research seminar will host research papers by both members of the group and invited speakers (list). The entire group will meet with a flexible cadence in intensive one or two-days seminars where it will be discussed the papers of some of the members.

In February 2010 the group will host a major event on truth-relativism (programme and dates tba).

Expected results

Research:

to foster individual and joint publications in peer-reviewed international journals, as well as the publication of books on the themes researched with established international publishers.

Educational:

• the project will give Master and PhD students a chance to study some of the main themes in current philosophy of language and to familiarise themselves with discussion in this area of philosophy;
• it will lead to PhD theses for those students primarily enrolled within this project.

 

Internationalization

We aim to create collaborations with similarly oriented research groups mostly based in Europe.