Paul Grice

Herbert Paul Grice (13 March 1913 – 28 August 1988), was a British philosopher of language. He is best known for his theory of implicature and the cooperative principle, which became foundational concepts in the linguistic field of pragmatics. His work on meaning has also influenced the philosophical study of semantics.

Quotes

• Strong freedom ensures that some actions are represented as directed to ends which are not merely mine, but which are also freely adopted or pursued by me.
  • Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Actions and Events, (1986)

Grice's Maxims

• The maxim of quantity, where one tries to be as informative as one possibly can, and gives as much information as is needed, and no more.
• The maxim of quality, where one tries to be truthful, and does not give information that is false or that is not supported by evidence.
• The maxim of relation, where one tries to be relevant, and says things that are pertinent to the discussion.
• The maxim of manner, when one tries to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as one can in what one says, and where one avoids obscurity and ambiguity.
  • Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech arts, Cole et al. Grice, H.P., Logic and Conversation, p. 41-58 (1975)
  • Grice's Maxims (As summarised above.)