In a message dated 9/19/2010 5:17:37 P.M., ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
On Sep 19, 2010, at 12:25 PM, John Wager wrote:
Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx wrote:
--- Herbert's wife (Grice's mother) was a High Anglican.
(She was an aristocrat -- nee Mabel Fenton).
I take it that she was, therefore, likely to have been an
antidisestablishmentarian?
An antiantidisestablishmentarianologist, I cannot approve.
"In a country with an established religion (e.g. England),
"antiestablishmentarianism" means support for the end of the special status of
the
established religion. In the 1800s, some English people opposed a movement to
disestablish as the church exclusively recognized by the government as the
official religion of the country. That countermovement was
antidisestablishmentarianism. Antidisestablishmentarianism is usually cited as
the longest word
in the English language, but according to some definitions it is exceeded
by several others."
Yes.
Plus, she saved Grice's life, most likely.
As Grice's biographer (S. R. Chapman) writes:
"Herbert Grice [Grice's father, also called, like his son, Herbert Grice]
is described in his son [Herbert Grice, the philosopher]'s college register
as 'business, retd.'. In fact, he had owned a manufacturing business
making small metal components that prospered during the Great War. When the
business subsequent began to fail [after the Armistice], Mabel [Grice's mother,
an antidesestablishmentarianologist] stepped in to save the family
finances by taking in pupils [NOT in philosophy. It was a prep]. She
[charitably]
included [her own son, Herbert Grice, the philosopher] in this miniature
school. This reversal of roles explains Herbert's [Grice's father, also
called "Herbert", like his son] early retirement. After the failure of the
manufacturing business [due to Peace], he [Grice's father, Herbert, the
non-conformist] did not attempt another venture, preferring, instead [as if
this
were not a venture -- how materialist can S. R. Chapman be?] to concentrate
on his skills as a concert cellist. His musical talent was inherinted by his
son [Herbert, the philosopher -- as Geary's musical talent was inherited
from his [Geary's] mother -- surely musical talent is a matter of heritage,
no?]."
----
Grice's musical talent is evidenced in the many songs that he mentions as
regards implicature:
"She was poor but she was honest" ---- this for Grice carries a
'conventional implicature' to the effect that honesty and money are NOT
hand-in-hand.
"You're the cream in my coffee" -- this for Grice has to be interpreted as
'metaphoric' (rather than "as per the explicature, that the addressee is a
white liquid substance").
"Every nice girl loves a sailor" -- this for Grice has to be understood as
'hyperbolic' and with a substitutional distributional account of the
object-quantifier, 'a' sailor. It's not ONE same sailor that every nice girl
loves, but SOME sailor (or other). Oddly Grice was R. N., so that's the tar
that was that was loved by all the nice girls.
Etc.
Speranza
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