1887
Volume 20, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1018-2101
  • E-ISSN: 2406-4238

Abstract

I suggest that promises and threats are similar speech acts and pose analogous problems for Speech Act Theory. After showing that they share the same formal types, I argue against there being purportedly fundamental differences between them in regard to explicitability, deontics, and illocution/perlocution. I conclude that the joint analysis of promises and threats suggests the propriety of a holistic theory of illocutionary acts.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/prag.20.2.05bla
2010-01-01
2025-02-17
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Árdal, P.S
    (1968) And that’s a promise. The Philosophical Quarterly 18.72: 225-237. doi: 10.2307/2218560
    https://doi.org/10.2307/2218560 [Google Scholar]
  2. Atiyah, P.S
    (1979) Promises and the law of contract. Mind 88.351: 410-418. doi: 10.1093/mind/LXXXVIII.1.410
    https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mind/LXXXVIII.1.410 [Google Scholar]
  3. (1981) Promises, morals and law. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Austin, J.L
    (1962) How to do things with words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Beller, S
    (2002) Conditional promises and threats – Cognition and emotion. Proceedings of the Twenty- Fourth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 113-118.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Beller, S. and Bender, A
    (2004) Cultural differences in the cognition and emotion of conditional promises and threats – Comparing Germany and Tonga. In K.D. Forbus , D. Gentner and T. Regier (eds), Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 85-90.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Beller, S. , A. Bender , and G. Kuhnmünch
    (2005) Understanding conditional promises and threats. Thinking & Reasoning11.3: 209-238. doi: 10.1080/13546780442000141
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13546780442000141 [Google Scholar]
  8. Bennett, J
    (1991) How do gestures succeed?In E. Lepore and R. van Gulick (eds.), John Searle and his critics. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 3-15.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Blanco Salgueiro, A
    (2004) Palabras al viento. Ensayo sobre la fuerza ilocucionaria. Madrid: Trotta.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Blanco Salgueiro, A et al
    (2007) Un rompecabezas acerca de la fuerza. In C. Martínez . (eds.), Current topics in logic and analytic philosophy. Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, pp.53-77.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Blanco Salgueiro, A
    (2008) Cómo hacer cosas malas con palabras: Actos ilocucionarios hostiles y los fundamentos de la Teoría de los Actos de Habla. Crítica, Revista Hispnoamericana de Filosofía 40.118: 93-120.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Cartwright, J.P.W
    (1984) An evidentiary theory of promises. Mind 93.370: 230-248. doi: 10.1093/mind/XCIII.370.230
    https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/XCIII.370.230 [Google Scholar]
  13. Castelfranchi, C. , and M. Guerini
    (2007) Is it a promise or a threat?Pragmatics & Cognition15.2: 277-311. doi: 10.1075/pc.15.2.05cas
    https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/pc.15.2.05cas [Google Scholar]
  14. Conison, J
    (1997) The pragmatics of promise. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 10.2: 273-322.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Corredor, C
    (2001) A comment on threats and communicative rationality. Theoria 16.40: 147-166.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. García-Carpintero, M
    (1996) Las ideas, las palabras y las cosas. Barcelona: Ariel.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Grant, C.K
    (1949) Promises. Mind 58.231: 359-366. doi: 10.1093/mind/LVIII.231.359
    https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/LVIII.231.359 [Google Scholar]
  18. Habermas, J
    (1991) Comments on John Searle: “Meaning, communication and representation”. In E. Lepore and R. Van Gulick (eds.), John Searle and his critics. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 17-29.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Habib, A
    (2008) Promises. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. E.N. Zalta . URL =plato.stanford.edu/entries/promises/.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Habermas, J
    (1999) Wahrheit und Rechtfertigung. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Harrison, J
    (1962) Knowing and promising. Mind 71.284: 443-457. doi: 10.1093/mind/LXXI.284.443
    https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mind/LXXI.284.443 [Google Scholar]
  22. Heath, J
    (1995) Threats, promises and communicative action. European Journal of Philosophy 3.3: 225-241. doi: 10.1111/j.1468‑0378.1995.tb00052.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0378.1995.tb00052.x [Google Scholar]
  23. (1996) Is language a game?Canadian Journal of Philosophy26.1: 1-28.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Jack, H
    (1958) On the analysis of promises. The Journal of Philosophy 55.14: 597-604. doi: 10.2307/2021967
    https://doi.org/10.2307/2021967 [Google Scholar]
  25. Kimball, R.H
    (2006) What’s wrong with argumentum ad baculum? Reasons, threats, and logical norms. Argumentation20: 89-100. doi: 10.1007/s10503‑006‑9003‑1
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-006-9003-1 [Google Scholar]
  26. Kissine, M
    (2008) From predictions to promises. How to derive deontic commitment. Pragmatics & Cognition 16.3: 471-491. doi: 10.1075/pc.16.3.03kis
    https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/pc.16.3.03kis [Google Scholar]
  27. Melden, A.I
    (1956) On promising. Mind 65.257: 49-66. doi: 10.1093/mind/65.1.49
    https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/65.1.49 [Google Scholar]
  28. Nicoloff, F
    (1989) Threats and illocutions. Journal of Pragmatics13: 501-522. doi: 10.1016/0378‑2166(89)90038‑6
    https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(89)90038-6 [Google Scholar]
  29. Peetz, V
    (1977) Promises and threats. Mind 86.344: 578-581. doi: 10.1093/mind/LXXXVI.344.578
    https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mind/LXXXVI.344.578 [Google Scholar]
  30. Robins, M.H
    (1976) The primacy of promising. Mind 85.339: 321-340. doi: 10.1093/mind/LXXXV.339.321
    https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/LXXXV.339.321 [Google Scholar]
  31. Searle, J.R
    (1965) What is a speech act?In M. Black (ed.), Philosophy in America. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. London: Allen and Unwin.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. (1969) Speech Acts. An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139173438
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139173438 [Google Scholar]
  33. (1975) A taxonomy of illocutionary acts. In K. Gunderson (ed.), Language, Mind and Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Searle, J.R. , and D. Vanderveken
    (1985) Foundations of Illocutionary Logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Vanderveken, D
    (1990/91) Meaning and Speech Acts, 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Verbrugge, S. , K. Dieussaert , W. Schaeken , and W. Van Belle
    (2004) Promise is debt, threat another matter: The effect of credibility on the interpretation of conditional promises and threats. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology58.2: 106-112. doi: 10.1037/h0085801
    https://doi.org/10.1037/h0085801 [Google Scholar]
  37. Walton, D
    (2000) Scare Tactics. Arguments that Appeal to Fear and Threat. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Walton, D. , and F. Macagno
    (2007) The fallaciousness of threats: Character and ad baculum . Argumentation21: 63-81. doi: 10.1007/s10503‑006‑9018‑7
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-006-9018-7 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/prag.20.2.05bla
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Holism; Promises; Speech Act Theory; Threats
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error