Noûs 50 (4):689-703 (2016)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Some philosophers oppose recent arguments for the Knowledge Norm of Assertion by claiming that assertion, being an act much like any other, will be subject to norms governing acts generally, such as those articulated by Grice for the purpose of successful, cooperative endeavours. But in fact, Grice is a traitor to their cause; or rather, they are his dissenters, not his disciples. Drawing on Grice's unpublished papers, I show that he thought of asserting as a special linguistic act in need of its own norm, and he tied his maxim of Quality to knowledge. I also develop a simple Gricean-inspired argument showing that the Quality maxim is not dependent on the Cooperative Principle. If it is not thus dependent, then the Cooperative Principle cannot be the explanation of, or source of normativity for, the Quality maxim. Thus, leveraging the insights informing the maxim of Quality actually provides the resources for a distinctive positive case that knowledge is the constitutive norm of assertion.
|
Keywords | Grice maxim of quality Cooperative Principle norms of assertion knowledge norm Gricean maxims communication |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Reprint years | 2014, 2016, 2017 |
DOI | 10.1111/nous.12065 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
The Foundations of Mathematics and Other Logical Essays.Frank Plumpton Ramsey - 1925 - London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Knowledge and Its Limits.Timothy Williamson - 2005 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 70 (2):452-458.
View all 34 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Assertion: On the Philosophical Significance of Assertoric Speech.Sanford Goldberg - 2015 - Oxford University Press.
Hedged Assertion.Matthew A. Benton & Peter Van Elswyk - 2020 - In Sanford Goldberg (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Assertion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 245-263.
View all 31 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Epistemological Contextualism and the Knowledge Account of Assertion.Joseph Shieber - 2009 - Philosophia 37 (1):169-181.
The Status of the Knowledge Account of Assertion.Frank Hindriks - 2007 - Linguistics and Philosophy 30 (3):393-406.
Norms of Assertion: The Quantity and Quality of Epistemic Support.J. Adam Carter & Emma C. Gordon - 2011 - Philosophia 39 (4):615-635.
The Express Knowledge Account of Assertion.John Turri - 2011 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 89 (1):37-45.
In What Sense is Knowledge the Norm of Assertion?Pascal Engel - 2008 - Grazer Philosophische Studien 77 (1):45-59.
The Test of Truth: An Experimental Investigation of the Norm of Assertion.John Turri - 2013 - Cognition 129 (2):279-291.
Moorean Sentences and the Norm of Assertion.Michael J. Shaffer - 2012 - Logos and Episteme 3 (4):653-658.
Dubious Objections From Iterated Conjunctions.Matthew A. Benton - 2013 - Philosophical Studies 162 (2):355-358.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2014-02-19
Total views
788 ( #9,329 of 2,519,317 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
36 ( #24,151 of 2,519,317 )
2014-02-19
Total views
788 ( #9,329 of 2,519,317 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
36 ( #24,151 of 2,519,317 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads