Philosophy
A question is a request for information, but, of course, we use sentences that sound like questions for all sorts of other things. In my Critical Thinking class last week we started thinking critically about the question, "Do these pants make my butt look big?" In light of the coming of Valentine's Day, it seems worth thinking about a few days early.
It seems that there are four possible things this sentence could be doing:
(1) It is an honest, authentic request for information. The person asking really wants to know if the pants do give what is certainly the illusion of his/her backside being larger than it is.
(2) It is a leading question, that is it is a question asks what it seems to be asking, but does it in a way that guides the listener to what the speaker takes the right answer to be. When asked if this makes me look fat, there is, of course, one and only one correct answer for those of us who do not have comfortable couches.
(3) It is what Hanno terms "a pointer," that is, one sentence that points to another that it really is expressing. In this case, the question "Do these pants make my butt look big?" points to another question, "Do you think I'm attractive?" and it is this second question that is really getting asked. H. P. Grice has an intricate account of how we figure out, seemingly without thinking, what sentences point to others in conversational contexts and if you haven't yet figured out what this points to, try answering it wrong one time...
(4) It is a disguised command. Consider the question, "You're not wearing that, are you?" May look like a question, may sound like a question, but it ain't a question. That utterance means "Go change now. I will not be seen in public with someone wearing that."
Which one is it or is it something else altogether?
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Philosophy
Does This Blog Make Me Look Fat?
A question is a request for information, but, of course, we use sentences that sound like questions for all sorts of other things. In my Critical Thinking class last week we started thinking critically about the question, "Do these pants make my butt look big?" In light of the coming of Valentine's Day, it seems worth thinking about a few days early.
It seems that there are four possible things this sentence could be doing:
(1) It is an honest, authentic request for information. The person asking really wants to know if the pants do give what is certainly the illusion of his/her backside being larger than it is.
(2) It is a leading question, that is it is a question asks what it seems to be asking, but does it in a way that guides the listener to what the speaker takes the right answer to be. When asked if this makes me look fat, there is, of course, one and only one correct answer for those of us who do not have comfortable couches.
(3) It is what Hanno terms "a pointer," that is, one sentence that points to another that it really is expressing. In this case, the question "Do these pants make my butt look big?" points to another question, "Do you think I'm attractive?" and it is this second question that is really getting asked. H. P. Grice has an intricate account of how we figure out, seemingly without thinking, what sentences point to others in conversational contexts and if you haven't yet figured out what this points to, try answering it wrong one time...
(4) It is a disguised command. Consider the question, "You're not wearing that, are you?" May look like a question, may sound like a question, but it ain't a question. That utterance means "Go change now. I will not be seen in public with someone wearing that."
Which one is it or is it something else altogether?
- Auto Mechanics To Quantum Mechanics
I have a schtick I do at the beginning of each class where I allow the students to ask me any question, auto mechanics to quantum mechanics, I tell them that any question at all will be entertained. I had some former students who come here to play ask...
- Seemingly Trivial Unanswered Problems In Discourse
I just read Steve Martin's memoir Born Standing Up yesterday (thanks Gwydion), and thinking back over his early albums (all of which I still have memorized), it inspired me to start a new occasional series of posts that I will call "Seemingly Trivial...
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We'll start on this batch of questions, but if you have others, feel free to leave them in this weekend's thread and I'll try to get to as many as possible. pm asks, If you could have any career other than the one you currently have, what...
- Any Questions?: Auto Mechanics To Quantum Mechanics
For those new to the playground, I have a schtick I do at the beginning of each class where I allow the students to ask me any question, auto mechanics to quantum mechanics, I tell them that any question at all will be entertained. I had some former students...
- Logic And Language
Let me try to get to some of the logic and language questions today: Nick + Adam ask, "After a week of debate, we come to you with this question: Is there an example of an argument that one should believe that is inclusive of one or more premises that...