A Griceian Oracle

Speranza At http://www2.units.it/grmito/recensioni/recensione-edipo.html I read, as per below, the review to a specific chapter in book (dedicated to Oedipus) within a mythological series. And the obvious connection is with ... Grice, a favourite author of mine. I seem to recall that M. Warner, formerly of Oxford and later of UWarwick/Coventry analysed 'implicatures' of religious language, alla Christianity: things like: what is the sense of "Our Father, which art in heaven..." -- what sort of _dialogue_ or conversational implicature is implicated (if I may repeat myself) in dialogues with divinities? A similar issue should concern the typical Grecian (not Griceian) oracle, as best illustrated, the authors of this specific Mythologica volume claim, in the Oedipus plot. I seem to recall that a student of U. Eco at Bologna, who studied systematically the history of semiotics as per Graeco-Roman antiquity, suggested that it's 'natural' signs that sprang an interest in 'semeia' in general (Herodotus). I would suggest that oracles possibly played just an important role. Of course, when it comes to LITERARY treatments of oracles (as per Sophocle's tragedy, say) we have further factors to consider, which in some way, alter, for the worse, the simpler, pure, Griceian picture. For we have to consider issues like 'tragical irony', i.e. the fact that an oracle, o, may SAY "x", but "implicates" "y", where "y" is supposed to be KNOWN to the spectator of, say, the tragedy where the oracle is reported (even if the recipient of the oracle manages to miss the 'implicature'), and so on. I suppose analyses of oracles have quoted Grice profusely but I wouldn't know, even if I would learn. The review concerns this chapter in the book, then, entitled, "Il potere della parola: oracoli, enigmi, AMBIGUITÀ" ambiguità" and which covers pp. 146-164. The reviewer writes: "La parola, che sia proferita da Tiresia, dalla Sfinge, da Giocasta o dallo stesso Edipo, fa parte di un linguaggio insondabile, il cui svelamento significa morte, condanna, punizione e vergogna. In questo contesto le domande sono chiare, le RISPOSTE AMBIGUE e gli avvenimenti, che ne derivano, aberranti e disastrosi, procedono in un sentiero parallelo a quello del giusto e del normale senza però mai incrociarlo." At this point one may need to review the Griceian goal in positing his theory of implicature. When we refer to 'ambiguity' as per the passages above, we are reminded of Griceian maxims like, "avoid ambiguity", "be clear", "avoid obscurity of expression, be perspicuous (sic)" -- irony on Grice's part here in formulating the maxim in a self-refuting manner -- and so on. One need indeed not be wedded to the Grice 1967 model since we now know (as per the Grice Papers deposited at the UC/Berkeley) that Grice developed that from previous Oxford lectures (given in 1965) where he speaks of desiderata of candour and clarity, etc. So there should not be a necessity to stick to the standard Griceian formulation of this or that maxim (within this or that principle -- e.g. the cooperative principle). Rather, we should analyse what Grice (if not the Grecians) were up to when developing a theory of 'implicature' -- the idea that a sign may 'say' more that it states, as it were. Grice was particularly interested in NON-LOGICAL 'implications' or 'entailments'. This should relate to oracles. Another point is rigidity as per Kripke. "You will kill your father and marry your mother", the oracle said to Oedipus. It failed to specify (Grice, "be as informative as is required"): "You will kill your father -- not King Polibo, mind -- and marry your mother -- not Queen Merope, mind --; I mean your REAL ones". Without such misunderstanding, the Oedipus tale would never have proceeded. In this case, a vague referential expression, "your father", "your mother", springs an unwanted implicature, as it were (Oedipus leaves Corinto to avoid the fulfillment of the above-mentioned oracle) and so on. And so on. The reviewer continues to make some more general, perhaps deeper points: "L’errore, anche se non voluto e inconsapevole, trascina tre generazioni di uomini alla rovina, all’omicidio e all’estinzione." "Edipo è l’emblema della crisi del linguaggio, testimoniando come la parola, in quanto voce onirica (7) e formula magica, sia foriera di una verità incomprensibile in astratto." And so on. References: Grice, Studies in the Way of Words, Harvard UP, 1989.