Re: Truth Value of UI (was: Re: UI for 'possible' (was: Re: [lojban] Bibletra...

[Jim Carter <jimc@MATH.UCLA.EDU>]

On Thu, 31 Jan 2002 pycyn@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 1/31/2002 10:05:32 AM CST, xod@sixgirls.org writes:
> > How do you intend to prove to me that ".ui" lacks a truth value?
>
> This looks like a foundational belief: if you don't see it, I don't suppose I
> can prove it to you...

I had a very similar wrangle some years ago. Pardon me while I botch
attributions to philosophers, or why don't I just give a generic credit to
unnamed wise people for essentially all of this...

A performative utterance makes things happen by being said. Example: "Let
there be light", "I now pronounce you man and wife". A constative
utterance conveys to the listener some information known to the speaker.
This part isn't in the Canon, but let's call it an indicative utterance,
which displays the speaker's emotional or internal state.

While we tend to analyse these categories in isolation, in fact every
utterance shares in all three aspects. Example: a performative utterance
also lets the listener know that this is the way it's going to be from now
on, whereas a constative ("purely" informational) utterance has the
performative effect of depositing information on the listeners that they're
expected to remember.

As for the indicative utterances, in animal behavior you see a lot of
these, like threat displays or sexual solicitation or group cohesiveness
calls, and humans have a lot more variety. But clearly if you do your
spoken (or facial) grin ".ui", it also has a constative function to inform
the listener how you feel. And it also has a performative function in that
often part of your motivation in doing the display is to induce the
listener to join in your feeling, acting through a hardwired emotional
channel.

Thus the designated purpose of selma'o <UI> may be for attitude indicators,
but a constative side effect, with a truth value, should not be rejected.

James F. Carter Voice 310 825 2897 FAX 310 206 6673
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Email: jimc@math.ucla.edu http://www.math.ucla.edu/~jimc (q.v. for PGP key)