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Is Grice the greatest philosopher that ever lived?

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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Sarah Palin and J. L. Austin: How to do things with 'refudiate'

One wonders if 'refudiate' is an explicit performative.

It seems it isn't.

Austin distinguished between

illocutions, like 'convince' (?)

and

perlocutions, like 'persuade'.

My intention (m-intention, in Grice's parlance) may be to convince you, but it cannot be to 'persuade' you. If you get persuaded it's up to you, not up to me.

Ditto with 'refudiate'.

"I hereby refudiate the plans for a mosque near Ground Zero" and "hope that you, peaceful Muslims, refudiate it too".

"Pls refudiate".

--- the illocutionary force indicating device may be a trick, but not impossible to conceptualise.

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