From jimc@MATH.UCLA.EDU Thu Jan 31 10:45:32 2002 Return-Path: X-Sender: jimc@math.ucla.edu X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_1_3); 31 Jan 2002 18:45:32 -0000 Received: (qmail 66574 invoked from network); 31 Jan 2002 18:45:31 -0000 Received: from unknown (216.115.97.171) by m8.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 31 Jan 2002 18:45:31 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO bodhi.math.ucla.edu) (128.97.4.253) by mta3.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 31 Jan 2002 18:45:31 -0000 Received: from localhost (bodhi.math.ucla.edu [128.97.4.253]) by bodhi.math.ucla.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id KAA27670 for ; Thu, 31 Jan 2002 10:45:30 -0800 (PST) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 10:44:52 -0800 (PST) Sender: To: Subject: Re: Truth Value of UI (was: Re: UI for 'possible' (was: Re: [lojban] Bibletra... In-Reply-To: <12a.b7ef29f.298acd2b@aol.com> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII From: Jim Carter X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=810565 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 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 UCLA-Mathnet; 6115 MSA; 405 Hilgard Ave.; Los Angeles, CA, USA 90095-1555 Email: jimc@math.ucla.edu http://www.math.ucla.edu/~jimc (q.v. for PGP key)