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    If 'X is good' were exclusively optative in meaning, then... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Russell's hypothesis that 'X is good' is exclusively in the optative mood is implausible

    If 'X is good' were exclusively optative in meaning, then speakers would have been radically misunderstanding the meanings of their own utterances for hundreds of years

    Philosophy of LanguageTruth & Knowledge
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    Russell's hypothesis that 'X is good' is exclusively in the optative mood is imp...Supposing that meaning is independent of collective intentions is an extremely i...To suppose that speakers systematically misunderstand their own utterances requi...

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    A viable defense of the optative theory requires showing that speakers...87%Russell cannot defend his optative theory by claiming that our usage o...86%Speakers do not in fact use 'X is good' as if it were in the optative ...85%According to Russell, 'X is good' and 'X is bad' are in the optative m...82%

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    SEP: russell-moral
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    Indeed there is something odd about the very idea of a disguised optative. Of course, it is possible to give orders or express wishes by means of sentences that are grammatically in the indicative mood. Henry IV’s “You have good leave to leave us”, is grammatically in the indicative but it is merely a slightly less curt variant of the obviously imperative “Worcester, get thee gone” (Shakespeare, Henry IV, 1.3). But when we use indicatives to express wishes or convey commands we are engaging in c

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