Disimplicature

Speranza

Grice's topic is the theory of topics. 

Grice's goal is to clarify and evaluate three competing traditions: what I call the way-based approach, the atom-based approach, and the subject-predicate approach. 

Grice develops criteria for adequacy using robust linguistic intuitions that feature prominently in the literature. Then Grice evaluates the extent to which various existing theories satisfy these constraints. I conclude that recent theories due to Parry, Perry, Lewis, and Yablo do not meet the constraints in total. Grice then introduces the issue-based theory—a novel and natural entry in the atom-based tradition that meets our constraints. In a coda, Grice categorizes a recent theory from Fine as atom-based, and contrast it to the issue-based theory, concluding that they are evenly matched, relative to our main criteria of adequacy. 

Grice offers tentative reasons to nevertheless favour the issue-based theory.