[lit-ideas] Ambivalence and Grice
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 04:39:44 -0500 (EST)
In a message dated 11/14/2013 4:14:21 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24935048
Unfortunately, don't know how to change thread heading. This moves topic.
The whole thing in many ways both moving and absurd, in other ways
neither, these words perhaps deserve comment:
"Dylan's award was temporarily blocked earlier this year after army
general Jean-Louis Georgelin, the Grand Chancellor of the Legion, voiced
reservations about his use of cannabis and anti-war politics."
Aside from the ambivalence of "his", the Grand Chancellor voiced no
reservations about "his" heroin and cocaine use.
-------
I would think that, rather than 'ambivalence', we have a sort of ambiguity,
indeed:
"Dylan's award was temporarily blocked after Georgelin voiced reservations
about his ["whose?" -- McEvoy] use of cannabis".
Grice indeed has a maxim,
"Avoid ambiguity".
Yet, it would be ultra-ambiguous that Georgelin would voice reservation
about his own use of cannabis. Therefore, the disimplicature is that 'his' can
NOT refer to Georgelin, but to Dylan [not Thomas].
It is best to reject the idea of ambivalence here. Or not.
---- Do not multiply ambivalences beyond ambivalency. Or something
Cheers,
Speranza
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