David Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199265176
- eISBN:
- 9780191713989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199265176.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter contains two brief letters to the editors. The first states that it is impossible to engage with dialetheism, since there is not sufficient common ground. The second says that, ...
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This chapter contains two brief letters to the editors. The first states that it is impossible to engage with dialetheism, since there is not sufficient common ground. The second says that, nonetheless, it is possible to reason non-trivially about inconsistent situations in certain cases.Less
This chapter contains two brief letters to the editors. The first states that it is impossible to engage with dialetheism, since there is not sufficient common ground. The second says that, nonetheless, it is possible to reason non-trivially about inconsistent situations in certain cases.
Langton Rae
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199236282
- eISBN:
- 9780191741357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199236282.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Pragmatics can shed light on racial hate speech and pornography, but only if we bring it down to earth. Five models for hate speech and pornography are distinguished: a conditioning model, an ...
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Pragmatics can shed light on racial hate speech and pornography, but only if we bring it down to earth. Five models for hate speech and pornography are distinguished: a conditioning model, an imitation model, an argument model, a speech act model, and its descendant, the pragmatic model. A speech act model distinguishes illocutionary and perlocutionary dimensions of speech: e.g. hate speech can incite, and cause, hatred and violence. The pragmatic model tries to capture these dimensions via an account of accommodation. It can indeed illuminate racial hate speech and pornography, but only with amendments that go ‘beyond belief’. Lewis and Stalnaker showed how ‘score’ or ‘common ground’ of conversation accommodates to moves speakers make, and the hearer’s belief adjusts accordingly. This picture needs extending to make sense of hate speech and pornography: we need to allow for the accommodation of other attitudes, such as desire and hate.Less
Pragmatics can shed light on racial hate speech and pornography, but only if we bring it down to earth. Five models for hate speech and pornography are distinguished: a conditioning model, an imitation model, an argument model, a speech act model, and its descendant, the pragmatic model. A speech act model distinguishes illocutionary and perlocutionary dimensions of speech: e.g. hate speech can incite, and cause, hatred and violence. The pragmatic model tries to capture these dimensions via an account of accommodation. It can indeed illuminate racial hate speech and pornography, but only with amendments that go ‘beyond belief’. Lewis and Stalnaker showed how ‘score’ or ‘common ground’ of conversation accommodates to moves speakers make, and the hearer’s belief adjusts accordingly. This picture needs extending to make sense of hate speech and pornography: we need to allow for the accommodation of other attitudes, such as desire and hate.
Adriaan Schout
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199535026
- eISBN:
- 9780191715860
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535026.003.0015
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, European Union
All of the presidents of the Council of Ministers have left their mark, in areas ranging from EU agenda-setting to securing agreement after technical negotiations. Partly because their duties are ...
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All of the presidents of the Council of Ministers have left their mark, in areas ranging from EU agenda-setting to securing agreement after technical negotiations. Partly because their duties are multifarious and poorly defined, their success has been variable. Leadership has been of three kinds. Task-oriented leadership involves chairing meetings efficiently according to rules of procedure and its importance is generally underrated. Group-oriented leadership requiring sounding out positions and identifying acceptable solutions irrespective of their quality. Transformational leadership is aimed at proposing ambitious innovations for the longer term, adding to the agenda, and finding new solutions. Discontinuities and excessive workload have been corrected by team presidencies, annually from 2002 and over eighteen months since 2007. A stable President of the European Council devoted to transformational leadership would cause tensions with the rotating presidents and raise excessive expectations.Less
All of the presidents of the Council of Ministers have left their mark, in areas ranging from EU agenda-setting to securing agreement after technical negotiations. Partly because their duties are multifarious and poorly defined, their success has been variable. Leadership has been of three kinds. Task-oriented leadership involves chairing meetings efficiently according to rules of procedure and its importance is generally underrated. Group-oriented leadership requiring sounding out positions and identifying acceptable solutions irrespective of their quality. Transformational leadership is aimed at proposing ambitious innovations for the longer term, adding to the agenda, and finding new solutions. Discontinuities and excessive workload have been corrected by team presidencies, annually from 2002 and over eighteen months since 2007. A stable President of the European Council devoted to transformational leadership would cause tensions with the rotating presidents and raise excessive expectations.
JANE SIMPSON
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199266500
- eISBN:
- 9780191719363
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266500.003.0012
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter discusses how one might examine the Narrow Ethnosyntax Hypothesis. It expands on Wierzbicka's suggestions for finding likely constructions and discusses pitfalls to avoid, such as ...
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This chapter discusses how one might examine the Narrow Ethnosyntax Hypothesis. It expands on Wierzbicka's suggestions for finding likely constructions and discusses pitfalls to avoid, such as alternative possible explanations for the frequency and productivity of intensifiers. The chapter illustrates a procedure for carrying out ethnosyntax using as an example the incipient grammaticalization associated path in a language whose speakers form a relatively homogeneous group, and about whom a number of ethnographies have been written.Less
This chapter discusses how one might examine the Narrow Ethnosyntax Hypothesis. It expands on Wierzbicka's suggestions for finding likely constructions and discusses pitfalls to avoid, such as alternative possible explanations for the frequency and productivity of intensifiers. The chapter illustrates a procedure for carrying out ethnosyntax using as an example the incipient grammaticalization associated path in a language whose speakers form a relatively homogeneous group, and about whom a number of ethnographies have been written.
Sally Haslanger
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199892631
- eISBN:
- 9780199980055
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199892631.003.0017
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Drawing on recent work by Sarah-Jane Leslie and others, this chapter considers how generics such as “Women are submissive” and “Blacks are violent” might implicate false claims about the nature of ...
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Drawing on recent work by Sarah-Jane Leslie and others, this chapter considers how generics such as “Women are submissive” and “Blacks are violent” might implicate false claims about the nature of women and Blacks. Once these implicatures are accepted into the common ground, they become part of the ideology that sustains racist and sexist social structures. One form of critique, then, will be to take aim at such implicatures and block them through meta-linguistic negation and other linguistic and non-linguistic interventions.Less
Drawing on recent work by Sarah-Jane Leslie and others, this chapter considers how generics such as “Women are submissive” and “Blacks are violent” might implicate false claims about the nature of women and Blacks. Once these implicatures are accepted into the common ground, they become part of the ideology that sustains racist and sexist social structures. One form of critique, then, will be to take aim at such implicatures and block them through meta-linguistic negation and other linguistic and non-linguistic interventions.
Karl Ameriks
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247318
- eISBN:
- 9780191601699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247315.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Argues, first, that there is a common ground in a methodological sense in the similarity of structure in Kant’s three Critiques. Also contends that central to Kant’s metaphysics and argumentative ...
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Argues, first, that there is a common ground in a methodological sense in the similarity of structure in Kant’s three Critiques. Also contends that central to Kant’s metaphysics and argumentative strategy is the assumption that there is an ontological common ground uniting subjects and objects, and that this is consistent with the regressive form of Kant’s transcendental deductions and his doctrine of transcendental idealism. In addition, argues that Kant’s philosophy as a whole seeks to show how there can be a common ground of agreement between the truths of common sense, philosophy, modern science, and rational morality. While providing an overview of the book, the Introduction also discusses the special interpretative difficulties of Kant’s Critical philosophy.Less
Argues, first, that there is a common ground in a methodological sense in the similarity of structure in Kant’s three Critiques. Also contends that central to Kant’s metaphysics and argumentative strategy is the assumption that there is an ontological common ground uniting subjects and objects, and that this is consistent with the regressive form of Kant’s transcendental deductions and his doctrine of transcendental idealism. In addition, argues that Kant’s philosophy as a whole seeks to show how there can be a common ground of agreement between the truths of common sense, philosophy, modern science, and rational morality. While providing an overview of the book, the Introduction also discusses the special interpretative difficulties of Kant’s Critical philosophy.
Istvan Kecskes
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199892655
- eISBN:
- 9780199345502
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199892655.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
Common ground refers to the sum of all the information that people assume they share that may include world views, shared values, beliefs, and situational context. According to current research if ...
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Common ground refers to the sum of all the information that people assume they share that may include world views, shared values, beliefs, and situational context. According to current research if people have common or similar prior experience, participate in similar actions and events, they know each other and have been in similar situations before, all that will result in common ground. Similar prior contexts, prior experience and similar understanding of the actual situational context will build common ground. The main problem of intercultural communication is that interactants have very little common ground. They need to co-construct it in the communicative process. The chapter distinguishes core common ground and emergent common ground with the latter being decisive in intercultural interactions. There is a ‘not sure’ approach introduced, which means that the speakers have some kind of predisposition toward their communicative partners, they are not exactly sure what they can expect from their counterparts.Less
Common ground refers to the sum of all the information that people assume they share that may include world views, shared values, beliefs, and situational context. According to current research if people have common or similar prior experience, participate in similar actions and events, they know each other and have been in similar situations before, all that will result in common ground. Similar prior contexts, prior experience and similar understanding of the actual situational context will build common ground. The main problem of intercultural communication is that interactants have very little common ground. They need to co-construct it in the communicative process. The chapter distinguishes core common ground and emergent common ground with the latter being decisive in intercultural interactions. There is a ‘not sure’ approach introduced, which means that the speakers have some kind of predisposition toward their communicative partners, they are not exactly sure what they can expect from their counterparts.
John G. Stackhouse
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138078
- eISBN:
- 9780199834679
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138074.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
As a form of Christian discourse, apologetical conversation ought to follow principles of communication patterned after the ministry of Jesus Christ. First, the apologist has to offer both verbal ...
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As a form of Christian discourse, apologetical conversation ought to follow principles of communication patterned after the ministry of Jesus Christ. First, the apologist has to offer both verbal proclamation (message) and living testimony (life) to his or her neighbor. Second, communication must always be full of both grace and truth, rather than emphasizing one at the expense of the other. Third, apologetics should be undertaken as an act of love both to God and to one's neighbor; all other purposes, whether to win the argument, try out new success tactics, and so on, must never compromise the love to God and neighbor as one's foremost concern. Fourth, keeping love to God and neighbor central means the apologist will always take an audience seriously on its own terms and seek out common ground between herself and her audience – which requires a cultivation of the art of listening.Less
As a form of Christian discourse, apologetical conversation ought to follow principles of communication patterned after the ministry of Jesus Christ. First, the apologist has to offer both verbal proclamation (message) and living testimony (life) to his or her neighbor. Second, communication must always be full of both grace and truth, rather than emphasizing one at the expense of the other. Third, apologetics should be undertaken as an act of love both to God and to one's neighbor; all other purposes, whether to win the argument, try out new success tactics, and so on, must never compromise the love to God and neighbor as one's foremost concern. Fourth, keeping love to God and neighbor central means the apologist will always take an audience seriously on its own terms and seek out common ground between herself and her audience – which requires a cultivation of the art of listening.
Ralph Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195371284
- eISBN:
- 9780199865000
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195371284.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
Multi-user virtual environments typically feature voice and text communication. This chapter analyzes both, beginning with a discussion of how people establish common ground, for example when they ...
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Multi-user virtual environments typically feature voice and text communication. This chapter analyzes both, beginning with a discussion of how people establish common ground, for example when they work on objects which they describe in words because they may not have the same view of them. It describes in detail how people using different languages communicate and relate to each other in a text-based virtual world. It discusses the introduction of voice capability into Second Life, which previously allowed only text-based communication. Finally, it discusses how various communication modalities are used in multi-user virtual environments, and how this relates to wider shifts towards internet-based communication and modalities such as videoconferencing.Less
Multi-user virtual environments typically feature voice and text communication. This chapter analyzes both, beginning with a discussion of how people establish common ground, for example when they work on objects which they describe in words because they may not have the same view of them. It describes in detail how people using different languages communicate and relate to each other in a text-based virtual world. It discusses the introduction of voice capability into Second Life, which previously allowed only text-based communication. Finally, it discusses how various communication modalities are used in multi-user virtual environments, and how this relates to wider shifts towards internet-based communication and modalities such as videoconferencing.
Istvan Kecskes
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199892655
- eISBN:
- 9780199345502
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199892655.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This is the first book about intercultural pragmatics that focuses on language use in intercultural interaction. Intercultural Pragmatics is concerned with the way the language system is put to use ...
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This is the first book about intercultural pragmatics that focuses on language use in intercultural interaction. Intercultural Pragmatics is concerned with the way the language system is put to use in social encounters between human beings who have different first languages, communicate in a common language, and, usually, represent different cultures. The communicative process in these encounters is synergistic in the sense that in them existing pragmatic norms and emerging, co-constructed features are present to a varying degree. The book defines intercultures as situationally emergent and co-constructed phenomena that rely both on relatively definable cultural norms and models as well as situationally evolving features. Intercultural pragmatics is rooted in the socio-cognitive approach (SCA) that combines the intention-based, pragmatic view of cooperation with the cognitive view of egocentrism to incorporate emerging features of communication. In this approach people cooperate by generating and formulating intention that is relevant to the given actual situational context. At the same time their egocentrism means that they activate the most salient information to their attention in the construction (speaker) and comprehension (hearer) of utterances. In this approach interlocutors are considered as social beings searching for meaning with individual minds embedded in a socio-cultural collectivity. Individual traits (prior experience-salience-egocentrism-attention) interact with societal traits (actual situational experience- relevance-cooperation-intention). Each trait is the consequence of the other. Prior experience results in salience which leads to egocentrism that drives attention. Intention is a cooperation-directed practice that is governed by relevance which (partly) depends on actual situational experience.Less
This is the first book about intercultural pragmatics that focuses on language use in intercultural interaction. Intercultural Pragmatics is concerned with the way the language system is put to use in social encounters between human beings who have different first languages, communicate in a common language, and, usually, represent different cultures. The communicative process in these encounters is synergistic in the sense that in them existing pragmatic norms and emerging, co-constructed features are present to a varying degree. The book defines intercultures as situationally emergent and co-constructed phenomena that rely both on relatively definable cultural norms and models as well as situationally evolving features. Intercultural pragmatics is rooted in the socio-cognitive approach (SCA) that combines the intention-based, pragmatic view of cooperation with the cognitive view of egocentrism to incorporate emerging features of communication. In this approach people cooperate by generating and formulating intention that is relevant to the given actual situational context. At the same time their egocentrism means that they activate the most salient information to their attention in the construction (speaker) and comprehension (hearer) of utterances. In this approach interlocutors are considered as social beings searching for meaning with individual minds embedded in a socio-cultural collectivity. Individual traits (prior experience-salience-egocentrism-attention) interact with societal traits (actual situational experience- relevance-cooperation-intention). Each trait is the consequence of the other. Prior experience results in salience which leads to egocentrism that drives attention. Intention is a cooperation-directed practice that is governed by relevance which (partly) depends on actual situational experience.
Andreas Stokke
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- August 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198825968
- eISBN:
- 9780191865022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198825968.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This chapter provides a detailed account of the notion of the common ground of conversations, which plays a central role in the Stalnakerian account of assertion that the book relies on for its ...
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This chapter provides a detailed account of the notion of the common ground of conversations, which plays a central role in the Stalnakerian account of assertion that the book relies on for its characterization of lying. The chapter specifies that common ground information is defined in terms of acceptance, rather than belief, and shows how this feature allows that bald-faced lies are assertions. Moreover, the chapter demonstrates how the Stalnakerian conception of communication makes room for bald-faced implicatures. A number of objections to this picture of assertion and the common ground definition of lying are rebutted, including issues concerning the notion of proposing information for common ground uptake, as well as problems involving metaphor and malapropism.Less
This chapter provides a detailed account of the notion of the common ground of conversations, which plays a central role in the Stalnakerian account of assertion that the book relies on for its characterization of lying. The chapter specifies that common ground information is defined in terms of acceptance, rather than belief, and shows how this feature allows that bald-faced lies are assertions. Moreover, the chapter demonstrates how the Stalnakerian conception of communication makes room for bald-faced implicatures. A number of objections to this picture of assertion and the common ground definition of lying are rebutted, including issues concerning the notion of proposing information for common ground uptake, as well as problems involving metaphor and malapropism.
Herman Cappelen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199644865
- eISBN:
- 9780191739026
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199644865.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter presents three strategies for the interpretation of unreflective uses of ‘intuitive’ and its cognates by philosophers. According to the first, we can remove reference to intuition ...
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This chapter presents three strategies for the interpretation of unreflective uses of ‘intuitive’ and its cognates by philosophers. According to the first, we can remove reference to intuition altogether without affecting the point conveyed by the philosopher. According to the second, ‘intuition’-talk is used to indicate that a proposition was reached without extensive reasoning or reflection. Finally, it is sometimes used to indicate that a proposition is pre-theoretic, or in the common ground among participants in a debate prior to theorizing. These last two uses give rise to distinctive kinds of hedging. To account for unreflective usage in which a proposition is called ‘intuitive’, it is argued, we do not need to appeal to the proposition’s having features used to characterize intuitions: a special phenomenology of seeming true, a basis in conceptual competence, or a default justificatory status.Less
This chapter presents three strategies for the interpretation of unreflective uses of ‘intuitive’ and its cognates by philosophers. According to the first, we can remove reference to intuition altogether without affecting the point conveyed by the philosopher. According to the second, ‘intuition’-talk is used to indicate that a proposition was reached without extensive reasoning or reflection. Finally, it is sometimes used to indicate that a proposition is pre-theoretic, or in the common ground among participants in a debate prior to theorizing. These last two uses give rise to distinctive kinds of hedging. To account for unreflective usage in which a proposition is called ‘intuitive’, it is argued, we do not need to appeal to the proposition’s having features used to characterize intuitions: a special phenomenology of seeming true, a basis in conceptual competence, or a default justificatory status.
John MacFarlane
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199573004
- eISBN:
- 9780191595127
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573004.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics/Epistemology
What is it to make an assertion? The literature contains four broad categories of answers: (1) To assert is to express an attitude. (2) To assert is to make a move defined by its constitutive rules. ...
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What is it to make an assertion? The literature contains four broad categories of answers: (1) To assert is to express an attitude. (2) To assert is to make a move defined by its constitutive rules. (3) To assert is to propose to add information to the conversational common ground. (4) To assert is to undertake a certain sort of commitment. This chapter discusses the motivations, advantages, and disadvantages of each of these views.Less
What is it to make an assertion? The literature contains four broad categories of answers: (1) To assert is to express an attitude. (2) To assert is to make a move defined by its constitutive rules. (3) To assert is to propose to add information to the conversational common ground. (4) To assert is to undertake a certain sort of commitment. This chapter discusses the motivations, advantages, and disadvantages of each of these views.
Anver M Emon, Mark Ellis, and Benjamin Glahn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199641444
- eISBN:
- 9780191741104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641444.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Comparative Law
This book is the culmination of a multi-year effort by the International Bar Association, the Salzburg Global Seminar, and a group of global leaders in law, education, and civil society. The book ...
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This book is the culmination of a multi-year effort by the International Bar Association, the Salzburg Global Seminar, and a group of global leaders in law, education, and civil society. The book itself focuses on the intersection of, and often conflict between, international human rights law and Islamic law. This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the search for the meaning of ‘common ground’ in Islamic law and international human rights law. It then describes the ‘clearing ground’ approach adopted by the authors. An overview of the five parts of the book is also presented.Less
This book is the culmination of a multi-year effort by the International Bar Association, the Salzburg Global Seminar, and a group of global leaders in law, education, and civil society. The book itself focuses on the intersection of, and often conflict between, international human rights law and Islamic law. This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the search for the meaning of ‘common ground’ in Islamic law and international human rights law. It then describes the ‘clearing ground’ approach adopted by the authors. An overview of the five parts of the book is also presented.
Robin W Lovin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199641444
- eISBN:
- 9780191741104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641444.003.0023
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Comparative Law
This chapter suggests that by clearing ground, the chapters in this volume create a space that Islamic law and international law can both occupy, though neither one of them holds the territory ...
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This chapter suggests that by clearing ground, the chapters in this volume create a space that Islamic law and international law can both occupy, though neither one of them holds the territory entirely on its own terms. The common ground is not a space where all questions have been settled. The common ground is where both systems of law continue to pose questions to one another, but each understands the other better and understands itself differently because of the ground clearing that has taken place. This book thus may suggest a way of proceeding in future discussions about law and religion or, indeed, about any interaction between different normative systems that have wide reaches, long histories, and deep cultural roots.Less
This chapter suggests that by clearing ground, the chapters in this volume create a space that Islamic law and international law can both occupy, though neither one of them holds the territory entirely on its own terms. The common ground is not a space where all questions have been settled. The common ground is where both systems of law continue to pose questions to one another, but each understands the other better and understands itself differently because of the ground clearing that has taken place. This book thus may suggest a way of proceeding in future discussions about law and religion or, indeed, about any interaction between different normative systems that have wide reaches, long histories, and deep cultural roots.
Robert C. Stalnaker
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199645169
- eISBN:
- 9780191761379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199645169.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This chapter develops an account of the structure of the body of information that is the common ground, and of the role of that structure in explaining some of the ways that the common ground changes ...
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This chapter develops an account of the structure of the body of information that is the common ground, and of the role of that structure in explaining some of the ways that the common ground changes in response to manifest events that take place in the course of a discourse. It defends the thesis that the notion of common ground is intelligible independently of the rules of any conventional linguistic practice with constitutive rules, though it also considers the role of shared information about a conventional linguistic practice. A central concern of the chapter is with the nature and role of the notion of presupposition accommodation.Less
This chapter develops an account of the structure of the body of information that is the common ground, and of the role of that structure in explaining some of the ways that the common ground changes in response to manifest events that take place in the course of a discourse. It defends the thesis that the notion of common ground is intelligible independently of the rules of any conventional linguistic practice with constitutive rules, though it also considers the role of shared information about a conventional linguistic practice. A central concern of the chapter is with the nature and role of the notion of presupposition accommodation.
N. J. Enfield
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199338733
- eISBN:
- 9780199369447
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199338733.003.0014
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter examines the role and status of knowledge and common ground in social interaction. It argues that shared knowledge plays an important role in defining social relationships. It is the ...
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This chapter examines the role and status of knowledge and common ground in social interaction. It argues that shared knowledge plays an important role in defining social relationships. It is the basis of pragmatic inference, and it allows abbreviated, elliptical signals that display the closeness of social relations. When people exchange information in social interaction, often they are doing this in order to invest in their relationship, either in the short run (within a specific discourse) or in the long run (in relation to an enduring social relationship). The chapter features examples from fieldwork on village conversation in Laos. The chapter argues that knowledge and information are important in the creation and maintenance of social relationships.Less
This chapter examines the role and status of knowledge and common ground in social interaction. It argues that shared knowledge plays an important role in defining social relationships. It is the basis of pragmatic inference, and it allows abbreviated, elliptical signals that display the closeness of social relations. When people exchange information in social interaction, often they are doing this in order to invest in their relationship, either in the short run (within a specific discourse) or in the long run (in relation to an enduring social relationship). The chapter features examples from fieldwork on village conversation in Laos. The chapter argues that knowledge and information are important in the creation and maintenance of social relationships.
Eser Kandogan, Paul P. Maglio, Eben M. Haber, and John Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195374124
- eISBN:
- 9780199979134
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374124.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
This chapter examines technical complexity in more detail. First, the story of Dot examines the numerous steps and pitfalls involved in deploying a “simple” Web application in an enterprise ...
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This chapter examines technical complexity in more detail. First, the story of Dot examines the numerous steps and pitfalls involved in deploying a “simple” Web application in an enterprise environment, highlighting not only the complexity involved but also coping strategies used to integrate information from systems and other people. Second, the chapter describes a critical situation in which a large group of experts was brought together in a single room to solve an intermittent, unpredictable Web application failure. This team spent many weeks together, trying to understand the subtle interactions between system components, collecting and exchanging information and ideas, and reconfiguring different components. This story demonstrates the heights of technical complexity, in which a problem could be so subtle as to require months of effort to solve it. It also shows many techniques people use to understand such problems, and provides some evidence about why the human cost of IT management keeps increasing.Less
This chapter examines technical complexity in more detail. First, the story of Dot examines the numerous steps and pitfalls involved in deploying a “simple” Web application in an enterprise environment, highlighting not only the complexity involved but also coping strategies used to integrate information from systems and other people. Second, the chapter describes a critical situation in which a large group of experts was brought together in a single room to solve an intermittent, unpredictable Web application failure. This team spent many weeks together, trying to understand the subtle interactions between system components, collecting and exchanging information and ideas, and reconfiguring different components. This story demonstrates the heights of technical complexity, in which a problem could be so subtle as to require months of effort to solve it. It also shows many techniques people use to understand such problems, and provides some evidence about why the human cost of IT management keeps increasing.
Eser Kandogan, Paul P. Maglio, Eben M. Haber, and John Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195374124
- eISBN:
- 9780199979134
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374124.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
This chapter tells what was learned overall. Through the focus on grounding, distributed cognition, and evolution, the chapter develops a set of high-level lessons for IT management. The chapter ...
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This chapter tells what was learned overall. Through the focus on grounding, distributed cognition, and evolution, the chapter develops a set of high-level lessons for IT management. The chapter argues that effective management lies in supporting improved communication and grounding between individuals and organizations, and in establishing an ecosystem in which evolution of tools, practices, and organizations can flourish, where local innovations can grow into community standards, and where standards can be adapted to local needs. In the end, system administration is seen depending on (a) collaboration among people, (b) adaptation of tools and practices, (c) orchestration of information and work across space and time, (d) communities of practice working together, and (e) automation that is appropriate to the human work of IT management.Less
This chapter tells what was learned overall. Through the focus on grounding, distributed cognition, and evolution, the chapter develops a set of high-level lessons for IT management. The chapter argues that effective management lies in supporting improved communication and grounding between individuals and organizations, and in establishing an ecosystem in which evolution of tools, practices, and organizations can flourish, where local innovations can grow into community standards, and where standards can be adapted to local needs. In the end, system administration is seen depending on (a) collaboration among people, (b) adaptation of tools and practices, (c) orchestration of information and work across space and time, (d) communities of practice working together, and (e) automation that is appropriate to the human work of IT management.
Robert Stalnaker
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199573004
- eISBN:
- 9780191595127
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573004.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Standard accounts of self-locating or essentially indexical knowledge and belief (such as that of David Lewis) make it difficult to understand the communication of self-locating information. But even ...
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Standard accounts of self-locating or essentially indexical knowledge and belief (such as that of David Lewis) make it difficult to understand the communication of self-locating information. But even the amnesiacs who populate the examples in the literature on this issue can talk with others about who they are or might be, and a general account of discourse should be able to account for this kind of communicative exchange. This chapter proposes a modification of Lewis's “centered-worlds” representations of self-locating attitudes that provides an account of common ground (the presumed common knowledge of speakers in a conversation) that is general enough to provide a context for the communication of information about who and where we are. The chapter concludes with an analysis, using the framework developed, of a notorious puzzle case that involves indexical communication: Mark Richard's phone booth example.Less
Standard accounts of self-locating or essentially indexical knowledge and belief (such as that of David Lewis) make it difficult to understand the communication of self-locating information. But even the amnesiacs who populate the examples in the literature on this issue can talk with others about who they are or might be, and a general account of discourse should be able to account for this kind of communicative exchange. This chapter proposes a modification of Lewis's “centered-worlds” representations of self-locating attitudes that provides an account of common ground (the presumed common knowledge of speakers in a conversation) that is general enough to provide a context for the communication of information about who and where we are. The chapter concludes with an analysis, using the framework developed, of a notorious puzzle case that involves indexical communication: Mark Richard's phone booth example.
