Interpretation of speech acts

Metaphors and the role of abduction

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2022.1.40490

Keywords:

Interpretation, Speech acts, Intentionality, Abduction, Metaphors

Abstract

In this article, we briefly present a Searlian theory of speech act interpretation. We show through the example of metaphors that, as proposed by Searle, the interpretation of speech acts would consist in recognizing the speaker’s intention. This process would take place through the use of conventional language rules both by the speaker and the listener. However, metaphors are an example that this proposed interpretation is not sufficient to describe the process by which agents interpret speech acts. We argue that the notion of strategic rules must be added to this process. Following Peirce, two strategic rules are offered: the principle of coherence and the principle of economy. It also seems satisfactory to add the principle of non-contradiction. Although empirical studies are not definitive on the theme of interpretation, especially on metaphors, the results point to the application of strategic rules in interpretation. Finally, it is suggested that if Searle is right that interpretation is recognition of the speaker’s intent, then interpretation depends on the use of conventional rules and the use of strategic rules.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Bernardo Alonso, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá, MT, Brasil.

Doutor em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), no Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil e pela University of Hertfordshire (UF), Hertfordshire, Reino Unido; mestre em filosofia pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), no Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil; professor associado do Departamento de Filosofia da Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso (UFMT), em Cuiabá, MT, Brasil.

José Carlos Camillo, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), Goiânia, GO, Brasil.

Doutorando em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), em Goiânia, GO, Brasil; mestre em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso (UFMT), em Cuiabá, MT, Brasil; bolsista da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa no Estado de Goiás (FAPEG), em Goiânia, GO, Brasil.

References

ALONSO, Bernardo. A tese da veracidade na teoria da informação fortemente semântica de Floridi e o paradoxo de Bar-Hillel-Carnap. Veritas, Porto Alegre, v. 57, n. 2, p. 123-142, 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2012.2.10568

COLSTON, Helbert; GIBBS, Raymond Jr. Metaphor processing. In: SEMINO, Elena; DEMJÉN, Zsófia. The Routledge handbook of metaphor and language. New York: Routledge, 2017. p. 457-472.

CHOMSKY, Noam. Estruturas sintáticas. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2018.

ECO, Umberto. Semiótica e filosofia da linguagem. Lisboa: Instituto Piaget, 1984.

FLORIDI, Luciano. In defense of the veridical nature of semantic information. European Journal of Analytic Philosophy, Rijeka, v. 3, n. 1, p. 31-41, 2007.

GENTNER, Dedre; BOWDLE, Brian. Metaphor as structure-mapping. In: GIBBS, Raymond. The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 109-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816802.008

GIORA, Rachel. Is metaphor unique? In: GIBBS, Raymond. The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 141-160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816802.010

GLUCKSBERG, Sam. The psycholinguistics of metaphor. Trends in Cognitive Science, Amsterdam, v. 7, n. 2, p. 92-96, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(02)00040-2

GLUCKSBERG, Sam; GILDEA, Patricia; BOOKIN, Howard. On understanding nonliteral speech: can people ignore metaphors? Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, Amsterdam, v. 21, p. 85-98, 1982. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(82)90467-4

GLUCKSBERG, Sam; NEWSOME, Mary; GOLDVARG, Yevgeniya. Inhibition of the literal: filtering metaphor-irrelevant information during metaphor comprehension. Metaphor and Symbol, London, v. 16, n. 4, p. 277-293, 2001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327868MS1603&4_8

HASSON, Uri; GLUCKSBERG, Sam. Does understanding negation entail affirmation? Journal of Pragmatics, Amsterdam, v. 38, p. 1015-1032, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.12.005

HINTIKKA, Jaakko. Socratic epistemology: explorations of knowledge-seeking by questioning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511619298

JOHNSON, Mark. Philosophy’s debt to metaphor. In: GIBBS, Raymond. The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 19-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816802.004

KATZ, Albert. Psycholinguistic approaches to metaphor acquisition and use. In: SEMINO, Elena.; DEMJÉN, Zsófia. The routledge handbook of metaphor and language. New York: Routledge, 2017. p. 457-471.

LAKOFF, George. The neural theory of metaphor. In: GIBBS, Raymond. The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 17-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816802.003

LAKOFF, George; JOHNSON, Mark. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470993.001.0001

MAGNANI, Lorenzo. Abductive cognition: the epistemological and eco-cognitive dimensions of hypothetical reasoning. Berlin: Springer, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03631-6

MAITRA, Ishani. The nature of epistemic injustice. Philosophical books, New Jersey, v. 51, n. 4, p. 195-211, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0149.2010.00511.x

PEIRCE, Charles Sanders. (CP) Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. 8 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1931-1958. 8 v.

SEARLE, John R. Speech Acts: an essay in the philosophy of language. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1969. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139173438

SEARLE, John R. Expression and meaning: studies in the theory of speech acts. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1979. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511609213

SEARLE, John R. Intentionality: an essay in the philosophy of mind. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139173452

SEARLE, John R. Mind, language, and society: philosophy in the real world. New York: Basic Books, 1998.

VAN BERKUM, Jos. Understanding sentences in context: what brain waves can tell us. Current directions in Psychological Science, Thousand Oaks, v. 17, n. 6, p. 376-380, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00609.x

Downloads

Published

2022-06-30

How to Cite

Alonso, B., & Camillo, J. C. (2022). Interpretation of speech acts: Metaphors and the role of abduction. Veritas (Porto Alegre), 67(1), e40490. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2022.1.40490

Issue

Vol. 67 No. 1 (2022): Single Volume

Section

Epistemology & Philosophy of Language

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Veritas (Porto Alegre)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright

The submission of originals to Revista Veritas implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Revista Veritas as the site of original publication.


Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise specified, material published in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is correctly cited. Copyright: © 2006-2020 EDIPUCRS</p