Abstract
Searle held that ‘thank you’ is an expressive illocutionary act that expresses the gratitude of the speaker. Although this view has been very influential, I argue that it must be rejected because it has counterintuitive implications about when a speaker is being insincere and when she is not. A more satisfactory account can be given if we take ‘thank you’ to express the normative judgment that a grateful response is required. Although I defend the judgment account from misinterpretations and objections, I ultimately add to it to explain how ‘thank you’ can pay respect and not just communicate it. I explain this by saying that ‘thank you’ has an effective use that allows us to pay our respects even if we don’t judge that a grateful response is necessary.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 718-731 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Australasian Journal of Philosophy |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1 2020 |
Keywords
- expressive speech acts
- gratitude
- reactive attitudes
- thank you