Assumptions about Communication, etc.

[dan everett]

     Noel,

     This is exactly the kind of thing that philosophers should pay
     attention to. When linguists study language carefully and come up with
     plausible looking generalizations, then that is something philosophers
     (or the relevant other discipline, depending on the case) should
     attend to.

     Dan


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Assumptions about Communication, etc.
Author:  <nrude at ucinet.com> at Internet
Date:    3/5/01 4:36 PM


on 3/5/01 7:04 AM, dan everett at dan_everett at SIL.ORG wrote:

> I am pessimistic about linguists shedding much light on the matter,
> unless they are able to translate this into empirical linguistic
> issues, with predictions and some bases for choosing between the
> predictions (the usual way linguists help philosophers think through
> issues).
>
> Dan Everett

But one wonders -- might the fact that we posit semantic roles such as Agent
(intentional cause) be of interest to philosophers?  One assumes they know
about this -- they do, don't they?

    Noel