Page 89 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, št. 3-4: K paradigmam raziskovanja vzgoje in izobraževanja, ur. Valerija Vendramin
P. 89
Between Fallacies and More Fallacies?
Igor Ž. Žagar
Introduction
In this paper, I propose a rhetorical reading of Austin, an Austinian in-
terpretation of Hamblin, and a hybrid Austino-Hamblinian perspec-
tive on fallacies (or what is considered to be fallacies).
I’ll be asking three questions: What are fallacies? Is there anything
like fallacies in natural languages at all? And consequently: aren’t we
forced to commit and live (in) fallacies (or “fallacies”)?
J. L. Austin as rhetorician
J. L. Austin is usually considered to be the “father” of speech act theory,
and the “inventor” of performativity. In a very general framework this is
both true, but historically and epistemologically speaking there is a nar-
row and intricate correlation, as well as a deep rupture between the two
theories.
Performativity came about as a result of Austin’s deep dissatisfaction
with classical philosophical (logical) division between statements/utter-
ances that can be (and should be) either true or false (with no gradation
in between), and only serve to describe the extra-linguistic reality (a di-
vision that implies another opposition between saying and doing in lan-
guage and with language).
Speech acts, on the other hand, came about as a result of Austin’s dis-
satisfaction with his own performative/constative distinction, a distinc-
tion that placed on the one side the utterances with which we can do (per-
form) something (and are neither true or false), and the utterances with
87
Igor Ž. Žagar
Introduction
In this paper, I propose a rhetorical reading of Austin, an Austinian in-
terpretation of Hamblin, and a hybrid Austino-Hamblinian perspec-
tive on fallacies (or what is considered to be fallacies).
I’ll be asking three questions: What are fallacies? Is there anything
like fallacies in natural languages at all? And consequently: aren’t we
forced to commit and live (in) fallacies (or “fallacies”)?
J. L. Austin as rhetorician
J. L. Austin is usually considered to be the “father” of speech act theory,
and the “inventor” of performativity. In a very general framework this is
both true, but historically and epistemologically speaking there is a nar-
row and intricate correlation, as well as a deep rupture between the two
theories.
Performativity came about as a result of Austin’s deep dissatisfaction
with classical philosophical (logical) division between statements/utter-
ances that can be (and should be) either true or false (with no gradation
in between), and only serve to describe the extra-linguistic reality (a di-
vision that implies another opposition between saying and doing in lan-
guage and with language).
Speech acts, on the other hand, came about as a result of Austin’s dis-
satisfaction with his own performative/constative distinction, a distinc-
tion that placed on the one side the utterances with which we can do (per-
form) something (and are neither true or false), and the utterances with
87
