Familiar Words in Unfamiliar Surroundings: Davidson's Malapropisms, Cavell's Projections
International Journal of Philosophical Studies 19 (5):643 - 668 (2011)
| Abstract | Abstract In their discussions and criticisms of the idea that language use is essentially a matter of following rules, Davidson and Cavell both invoke as counterexamples instances of intelligible linguistic innovation. Davidson?s favorite examples are malapropisms. Cavell focuses instead on what he calls projections. This paper clarifies some important differences between malapropisms and projections, conceived as paradigmatic forms of linguistic innovation. If malapropisms are treated as exemplary it will be natural to conclude, with Davidson, that a shared practice, be it rule-governed or not, matters only instrumentally ? as something that may enhance but is neither necessary nor sufficient for successful communication. By contrast, if Cavellian projections are seen as exemplary, a shared practice will be conceived not only as essential to the possibility of meaningful linguistic innovation, but as already permeated by the sort of creativity of which projections are only particularly striking examples. It is also argued that malapropisms are not particularly convincing as counterexamples to the sort of view Davidson wants to reject. Cavellian projections, on the other hand, are powerful as counterexamples, and reflecting on the nature of their inventiveness is crucial to understanding and seeing the plausibility of Cavell?s own conception of language | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,664 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesJohn Michael McGuire (2007). Malapropisms and Davidson's Theories of Literal Meaning. The Proceedings of the Twenty-First World Congress of Philosophy 6:93-97.
Marga Reimer (2004). What Malapropisms Mean: A Reply to Donald Davidson. Erkenntnis 60 (3):317-334.
Stefano Predelli (2010). Malapropisms and the Simple Picture of Communication. Mind and Language 25 (3):329-345.
Ehud Rahat (1992). Metaphors and Malapropisms: Davidson on the Limits of the Literal. Philosophia 21 (3-4):311-327.
Marcia Cavell (1994). Dividing the Self. In Gerhard Preyer, F. Siebelt & A. Ulfig (eds.), Language, Mind, and Epistemology: On Donald Davidson's Philosophy. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Donald Davidson (2005). Truth, Language and History. Oxford University Press.
Martin Gustafsson (2005). Perfect Pitch and Austinian Examples: Cavell, McDowell, Wittgenstein, and the Philosophical Significance of Ordinary Language. Inquiry 48 (4):356 – 389.
Marcia Cavell (1993). The Psychoanalytic Mind: From Freud to Philosophy. Harvard University Press.
Ralf Stoecker (ed.) (1993). Reflecting Davidson: Donald Davidson Responding to an International Forum of Philosophers. W. De Gruyter.
Anthony Dardis (1994). How the Radically Interpreted Make Mistakes. Dialogue 33 (03):415-.
Naoko Saito (2009). Ourselves in Translation: Stanley Cavell and Philosophy as Autobiography. Journal of Philosophy of Education 43 (2):253-267.
Roger F. Gibson (1994). Quine and Davidson: Two Naturalized Epistemologists. Inquiry 37 (4):449 – 463.
Roshdi Rashed (2000). Ibn Sahl Et Al-Quhi: Les Projections Addenda & Corrigenda. Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 10 (1):79-100.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-12-15Total downloads23 ( #53,790 of 549,013 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,261 of 549,013 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
