by J. L. Speranza
-- for the Grice Club
PERHAPS THE FIRST (or 'first') example by Grice of 'implicature' is:
A: I am out of petrol.
B: There is a garage round the corner.
As Kramer points out, "Grice on ex ante and post ante", commentary, this blog:
"[I]f f A asks B for help in the form
of information, and B chooses not to
provide it, B may respond "I don't
care." This is certainly unhelpful, but
it's terse, true, relevant, and clear. What
more could a Gricean want?"
Exactly. I mean, I should reply, "What more could a Gricean want?". But by commenting, "Exactly," I implicate, NOTH more!
----
Back to Grice's example:
He describes it as an "example[...] in which no maxim
is violated, or at least in which it is not clear that
any maxim is violated. A is standing by by
obviously immobilised car and is approached by B. ...
B would be infringing the maxim, 'be relevant', unless
[B] thinks, or thinks it possible, that the garage
is open, and has petro to sell."
The 'unstated connection' (as Grice puts it, p. 32) -- i.e. strictly, the enthymeme that we have been discussing with Kramer -- is 'obvious' (unlike, Grice thinks, "He hasn't been to prison yet"). Indeed, it is "SO" obvious that 'be perspicuous' should not be deemed as having been 'infringed'.
Now for Kramer's variant:
A: I am out of petrol.
B: I don't care.
-----
Note that B, in Grice's scenario, is "approach[ing] A". I.e. "A is standing BY an obviously immobilised car and is approached by B".
Under those circumstances, "I don't care" sounds _odd_?
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Of course, I'm avoiding Kramer's IMPORTANT point: the ethical one!
ReplyDelete----
It is good that Grice developed this 'cooperative principle' which is so technical it hurts from previous concerns (as per lectures dated 1964 which he gave at Oxford and which he kept and are now safe and sound -- if unread for good -- at U. C. Berkeley.
In those lectures he talked 'helpfulness' (archival material cited by Chapman, 2006). And he talked 'reciprocal', conjoint, action.
So, A and B are cooperating if they are in some joint venture.
A: I am out of petrol.
B: I don't care.
A: I never ASKED you to care. It's just that you were approaching...
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Is B just being intrusive? Why is he APPROACHING? Consider Grice, WoW, p. 29, but I will post the fragment in separate post.