PAUL NICHOLS curriculum vitae

1605 Brown Avenue Knoxville, TN 37917 (202) 689-4115 [email protected]

Employment Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of , UCLA, Winter 2016 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Spring 2015

Education University of California, Los Angeles Ph.D., Philosophy, December 2014 M.A., Philosophy, 2008

Reed College B.A., Philosophy, 2001 Thesis: “In Defense of the Obvious: Leibniz’s ”

Dissertation: “The Meaning and Semantics of Singular Noun Phrases” – Professor Sam Cumming, Co-Chair – Professor Joseph Almog, Co-Chair – Professors David Kaplan, Tony Martin and Ed Keenan (Linguistics), Committee Members

Dissertation Abstract: In my dissertation I develop a uniform, purely-referential account of all singular definite noun phrases. The first chapter argues that names, pronouns and definite descriptions are used to accomplish a single communicative function: namely, to convey the identity of the entity to which they refer. The differences between these three types of singular definite noun phrase is attributed to the different communicative contexts in which they are used. The second chapter extends the account of the first chapter to generic, predicational, and so-called narrow-scope definite descriptions. The view defended is that generic, narrow-scope and predicational uses of definite descriptions refer to kinds, which have as members the individuals referred to by specific uses. The third chapter applies the theory of definite noun phrases developed in the first two chapters to the semantics of indirect discourse. Once the semantics of definite noun phrases in simple sentences is properly understood, indirect discourse poses no new obstacles to a purely referential semantics.

Areas of Specialization Language and Mind

Areas of Competence Logic, Indian Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy

Fellowships Dissertation Year Fellowship, Fall 2013 – Summer 2014 Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, Summer 2008, (Joseph Almog, adviser)

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Papers “A Unified Treatment of (Pro-)Nominals in Ordinary English” (with Joseph Almog and Jessica Pepp, in On Reference, Oxford University Press, January 2015) “Singular Reference and Generality” (writing sample) “Direct Reference in Indirect Discourse” (writing sample) “Reference and Communication” “Comparative Adjectives: Can Semantics Capture Adjectives’ More and Less”

Presentations “Reference and Communication” Devices of Reference, Center for the Study of Mind in Nature, University of Oslo, June 2015 “The Meaning and Semantics of Singular Noun Phrases” Kaplan Fest: in honor of Professor David Kaplan’s 80th birthday, UCLA Philosophy Department, April 2014 “A Unified Account of Definite Description Ambiguities Without Logical Forms” SynSem, UCLA Linguistics Department, November 2013 “Definite Descriptions are Directly Referential” Workshop on Semantics and Pragmatics, September 2013 “Irony and Semantics” Language Workshop at UCLA, November 2012 “Semantics Without Intermediaries” UCLA Job Writing Seminar, May 2012 “Indirect Discourse Semantics and Pragmatics” Language Workshop at UCLA, November 2011 “Belief Reports: Logic and Semantics” Language Workshop at UCLA, March 2010

Teaching Experience Primary Instructor Philosophy of Language and Metaphysics, UCLA, Winter 2016 (future) Philosophy of Language, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Spring 2015 Introduction to Philosophy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Spring 2015 Theories of Human Nature, Miami University of Ohio, Spring 2013

Teaching Assistant, UCLA Modern Philosophy, Spring 2012 (John Carriero) Philosophy of Law, Summer 2011 (Alexi Patsauras) Occam’s Logic, Spring 2011 (Calvin Normore) Topics in Ethics, Winter 2011 (A.J. Julius) Ancient Philosophy, Fall 2010 (Gavin Lawrence) Free Will, Spring 2010 (Calvin Normore) Philosophy of Mind, Winter 2010 (Sam Cumming) Philosophy of Language: Kripke, Fall 2009 (David Kaplan and Joseph Almog) Buddhism, Summer 2009 (Paul Kjielberg) Philosophy of Language: Russell, Spring 2009 (David Kaplan) Philosophy of Language: Frege, Winter 2009 (David Kaplan) Ancient Philosophy, Fall 2008 (Henry Mendell) Philosophy of Mind, Spring 2008 (Andrea Bianchi) Medieval Philosophy, Winter 2008 (Calvin Normore) Philosophy of Mind, Fall 2007 (Joseph Almog)

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Selected Coursework, UCLA Department of Philosophy Responsibility and Free Will (Pamela Hieronymi) Analytic Philosophy, Frege through Kripke (David Kaplan) Descartes (John Carriero) Analytic Philosophy, Ordinary Language through Wittgenstein (Andrew Hsu) Aristotle’s Ethics (Gavin Lawrence) Analytic Ethics (Pamela Hieronymi) Intensional Logic: Part I and Part II (Joseph Almog) Philosophy of Philosophy (Mark Greenberg) Truth and Semantic Paradoxes (Terence Parsons) Problems in Moral Philosophy (Pamela Hieronymi) Spinoza (Joseph Almog)

Self and Self-Knowledge (audited, Tyler Burge) A New Basis for Semantics (audited, Sam Cumming) Indefinite Noun Phrases (audited, Sam Cumming) Intentional Identity (audited, Sam Cumming) A New Basis for Semantics (audited, Sam Cumming) Vagueness (audited, Ed Stabler, Linguistics, and Sam Cumming, Philosophy) Singular Thought (audited, David Kaplan) Relational Semantics (audited, David Kaplan) A Puzzle About Belief (audited, David Kaplan) Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations (audited, Andrew Hsu and Gavin Lawrence) Wittgenstein’s Tractatus (audited, David Kaplan, Andrew Hsu, Gavin Lawrence)

Department of Linguistics Phonology I (Russel Schuh) Syntax I (Carston Schütze) Syntactic Theory I (Graduate) (Peter Hallman) Semantic Theory I (Graduate) (Daniel Büring) Semantic Theory II (Graduate) (Daniel Büring) Two-Dimensional Pragmatics (audited, Graduate) (Daniel Büring)

Department of Mathematical Logic (Graduate) (Yianis Moschovakis) Recursion Theory (Graduate) (Yianis Moschovakis)

Department of Computer Science Natural Language Processing (audited, Graduate) (Michael Dyer)

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References Joseph Almog, Professor of Philosophy, UCLA Dissertation Committee Co-Chair [email protected]

Sam Cumming, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, UCLA Dissertation Committee Co-Chair [email protected]

David Kaplan, Professor of Philosophy, UCLA Dissertation Committee Member [email protected]

Andrea Bianchi, Ricercatore (Tenured Lecturer in Philosophy), University of Parma [email protected]

Calvin Normore, Professor of Philosophy, UCLA Teaching Reference [email protected]

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