The Grice Club

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The club for all those whose members have no (other) club.

Is Grice the greatest philosopher that ever lived?

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Whether or not: The Griceian implicature

"Whether or not" is redundant an overwhelming majority of the time.

The main exception seems to be when no real alternative exists and whether or not is used for emphasis.

Here’s an example:

I’m leaving whether you like it or not.

You certainly can’t change this to:

I’m leaving whether you like it.

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