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    Carmelics

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    Made withinDC&Austin
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    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Literary utterances are not genuine speech acts but rather 'imitations' of speech acts, as Searle argues in 'The Logical Status of Fictional Discourse'.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Literary utterances still perform genuine illocutionary acts: novels warn, describe, and persuade with real communicative force and effect.
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    • 2.The distinction between 'genuine' and 'imitated' speech acts lacks clear criteria; both involve intentional communication with conventional meaning.
      ?

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    • 3.Searle's account struggles with cases like embedded speech in fiction (dialogue) and metafictional works that blur the imitation/genuine boundary.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Authors suspend normal communicative intent; they don't assert propositions to affect audiences' beliefs as genuine speakers do.
      ?

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    • 2.Literary speech lacks the binding social obligations of real promises, warnings, and declarations made outside fictional contexts.
      ?

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    • 3.Readers understand literary utterances operate under different rules—we don't fact-check novels or hold authors accountable as we do speakers.
      ?

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