maxims-qua-norms

Esa Itkonen eitkonen at UTU.FI
Wed Feb 10 15:27:46 UTC 1999


There seems to be some conceptual confusion concerning the notion of
Gricean maxim. The maxims are NORMS; and it is a conceptual truth that
norms can be, and are, violated. Therefore it is wrong to assume that
pointing out violations of maxims constitutes eo ipso a criticism of those
maxims. Counterexamples refute laws of nature, not norms. (This is, in a
nutshell, the difference between linguistics and the natural sciences.) On
the other hand, it is informative to learn when and where the maxims are
violated. Therefore the reference to mendacious, irrelevant, or impolite
verbal behavior remains justified (even if, to repeat, it does not refute
the norms.) Of course, when the gap between norms and actual behavior
widens, the existence of norms becomes questionable. I have dealt with the
complicated issue of linguistics & normativity in two more-than-300-page
books.
Esa Itkonen



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