Chapter 2 The Directive Function of Language Directive
- Slides: 6
Chapter 2: The Directive Function of Language
Directive Language (p. 13) • What directive language is • Commands and Questions – Commands tell you to do or believe something. – Questions tell you to give information. • Directive sentences are not statements. – Commands are neither true nor false.
Commands (pp. 14 -15) • Concerns with meaning – Ambiguity and Vagueness • Questions of authority – Does the person offering the command have the authority to do so? Does it make a difference whether your philosophy teacher or your drill sergeant tells you to do pushups? – If a person tells you to believe something, does the person’s background make any difference?
Statements and Commands (p. 16) • Statements can be reformulated as commands – If Jed says, “Young George Washington cut down a cherry tree” (a claim for which historical evidence is lacking), Jed can be understood as commanding you to believe that young George cut down a cherry tree: “Believe me: Young George Washington cut down a cherry tree. ”
Statements and Commands (p. 16) • Commands can be reformulated as statements – Commands can be reformulated as statements by adding obligation words such as “You should (or ought, or are obligated to). ” – For example, the command “Eat your vegetables” can be reformulated as the statement, “You should eat your vegetables. ”
Statements and Commands (p. 16) • Kinds of obligation terms – Introducing obligation terms can introduce ambiguities, since there are different kinds of obligation terms. – Kinds of obligations include: • • • Moral Social Legal Political Religious
