Anarchic versus Liberal Humpty-Dumptyism

by J. L. Speranza
-- for the Grice Club.

WHAT I PERHAPS FAILED TO DISTINGUISH IN MY "JABBERWOCKY" ESSAY, which I presented to the Luton, Beds-based Lewis Carroll Society (only I never knew if they read it -- they did publish it, though!) is between

'anarchic Humpty-Dumptyism', as used by Grice's disciple at Christ Church, A. G. N. Flew.

and

'liberal Humpty-Dumptyism'.

Let's consider the Carrollian passages:

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`And only one for birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!'

`I don't know what you mean by "glory,"' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'

`But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument,"' Alice objected.

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master - - that's all.'

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything

----

In my "Jabberwocky" essay, I simplified the claim to read:

(T) By uttering 'There's glory for you!', Humpty Dumpty means that there is a nice knock-down argument for Alice.

(I failed to distinguish if this was via implicature or what).

----

I gave Griceian arguments PRO and finally AGAINST it (The 'against' it being based on D. F. Pears, also of Christ Church).

---

I entitled my piece, "Impenetrability", since I also considered the immediate continuation to that exchange:

---


Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. `They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs, they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'

`Would you tell me, please,' said Alice `what that means?`

`Now you talk like a reasonable child,' said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. `I meant by "impenetrability" that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life.'

`That's a great deal to make one word mean,' Alice said in a thoughtful tone.

`When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty Dumpty, `I always pay it extra.'

`Oh!' said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark.


----

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Note that the issue is not as simple as Flew thinks it is (to utter 'pod' to mean pod.

"Linguistic conventions," Flew writes (p. 30 of the reprint in Shosky), "here means those by which we use 'pod' rather than 'pid' or 'nup' to mean pod; and so forth." VERY clarifying. (Irony there).

----

glory, noun. feminine in Latin, 'gloria'.

"a nice knockdown argument" -- still a noun phrase.

"There's glory for you"
"There's A NICE KNOCK-DOWN ARGUMENT for you"

---

But

"impenetrability", noun, feminine in Latin, 'impenetrabilitas'.

"

`I meant by "impenetrability" that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life.'

Note that in this second instance, Humpty engages in a 'that'-clause of the type that R. Hall and I adore.

---- By 'impenetrability' [rather than by the stricter, "By UTTERING 'Impenetrability'], Humpty Dumpty MEANT that: "Humpty Dumpty and Alice have had enough of some subject AND that it would be just as well if Alice would mention what Alice means to do next, as Humpty Dumpty doesn't suppose Alice means to stop THERE all the rest of Alice's life.

Surely that is silly.

----

Note that in the previous, better known case [I'm scared of using 'better-known' and 'well-known' after Kramer's reprimand -- but I'll survive], that Kramer now trades on, "glory" ('a nice knock-down argument'),

HUMPTY DUMPTY: There's glory for you!

ALICE: I don't know what you mean by "glory".

HUMPTY DUMPTY [smiling] Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"

---- In this case, it is not utterer's meaning, which (as Grice WoW:v -- second section has it, -- 'Varieties of nonnatural meaning', p. 91), but utterance-type occasion-meaning at most. For the record, let's revise Grice considers, the basic, prior:

i. utterer's meaning

from ii-iii-iv specifications of EXPRESSION meaning:

ii. utterance-type occasion-meaning ("By X U meant '...'"]

iii. utterance-type APPLIED timeless meaning ("X means here '...'")

and

iv. utterance-type TIMELESS meaning ("X means '...'").


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I cannot go into the detail, right here, as to how the belief-based view of intention held by Grice ends endorsing a 'liberal' rather than an 'anarchic' Humpty Dumptyism but you get the picture.

In any case, it is sad that not only J. L. Austin and Wittgenstein ignored ('frequently' in the case of Austin, Grice has it) the 'importance of distinguishing what our words mean and what we mean by them' ("Prejudices and predilections, which become the life and opinions of Paul Grice", by Paul Grice), but that Alice did too!

---

ALICE: But "glory" does not mean "a nice knock-down argument".

HUMPTY DUMPTY (all too famous retort) [in rather a scornful tone]: When I use a word, it means just what I choose it [i.e. the word, rather than myself -- which would be a strict case of utterer's meaning. JLS] to mean -- neither more nor less.

ALICE. The question is whether you can make words mean so many different things.

HUMPTY DUMPTY. The question is which is to be master - - that's all.

--- Gardner simplifies the issue here, but rather inspirational. He notes that in Wonderland, just to prove Mill right -- cfr. our Grice to our Mill -- general words like 'brilling', 'toves', etc. -- don't mean anything but what people (and eggs, etc.) whimsically mean by them, while proper names (like "Alice", "Humpty Dumpty") MEAN things --:


HUMPTY DUMPTY: Tell me your name and your business.

ALICE. My name is Alice, but--

HUMPTY DUMPTY [interrupting] It's a stupid name enough! What does it mean?

ALICE [doubtfully]. Must a name mean something?

HUMPTY DUMPTY [with a sort laugh]. Of course it must. My name means the shape I am -- and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like your, you might be any shape, almost.

--- In any case, I like to think that, Griceian varieties of nonnatural meaning aside, and since Humpty Dumpty works basically with TWO scenarios ('glory' and 'impenetrability') which are specific, and one which is general -- as per the rhyme which encapsulates his moral, it is utterer's meaning he is centrally having in mind -- if an egg can be said to have one ('mind', I mean, not 'central meaning'):

In spring, when woods are getting green,
I'll try and tell you what I mean.

("`Thank you very much,' said Alice.")

And we should welcome her.