[lit-ideas] Re: Grice's Yawn
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:42:49 -0700
JL,
I didn't mention it earlier, but Ginger does understand much of what I say and
probably all of what I say regularly. A few days after the event I described,
Ginger sitting by the patio door as though she wanted out, but then hesitating
and not going out, she went to the back door standing not sitting and looked
back at me. She was telling me she did want to go out and asking me to open
the door. Perhaps if I had paid closer attention on the earlier occasion I
would have interpreted her sitting posture as indicating that she wanted to
look through the glass but not go outside. On the later occasion when she did
want out I found myself saying in a voice indicating no exasperation
whatsoever, "ah, you want to go out."
Perhaps a Grician would say that my "ah, you want to go out" was redundant
since Ginger clearly communicated that want to me and I demonstrated my
understanding by opening the door for her, but using words enables (or
reinforces) Ginger's ability to understand their significance. An example is
when she wants under her blanket. She will come to my desk and stare at me. I
use words to list all the possible things she might want (aside from a treat
since she will always accept one of those). Finally when I say what it is she
does want, e.g., "do you want under your blanket," her eyes will flick over in
the direction of her blanket telling me I finally got it right. I cover her up
and all is well.
Now as to yawning, dogs yawn but mine did most of their yawning when they were
younger. I interpreted it as a sign of embarrassment. They may have done
something they shouldn't have, received a scolding and yawned as a result.
That wouldn't necessarily go against the "thermoregulatory response" you
describe; however . . .
As to yawning being "part of a thermoregulatory response that helps cool the
brain by shunting blood to facial muscles that act as radiators and offload
heat from the redirected blood"; that strikes me as counterintuitive insofar as
humans are concerned -- at least insofar as I am a valid example, and if
boredom comprises a cooling down of the brain. That is, I am first bored and
then I yawn. Yawning, therefore, may be the result of a cooled-down brain and
not the cause of the cooling.
If I'm watching an intriguing lecture on C-Span I do not yawn, but if I'm
listening to something I feel duty-bound to pay attention to but am
nevertheless bored by it, e.g., a speech by a Democrat, I yawn.
If I am arguing with someone (which at my age I try to avoid) it "feels" as
though my brain is heating up -- at least my face gets red so I have been told
-- but I am in no danger of yawning.
Lawrence
-----Original Message-----
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 7:59 AM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Grice's Yawn
Suppose someone yawns in front of you. Suppose he is Grice. You may be able, on
occasion, to draw the 'unwanted' implicature. If it is an implicature, it is
of course 'wanted' (an implicature is not like a baby, which can be unwanted
and yet a baby).
You may derive, "He is bored by what I say -- or something".
Yet, Grice was impressed by new developments in neurophysiology. So, what he
'meant', perhaps, was that Grice's system was displaying part of a
thermoregulatory response in order to cool the brain by shunting blood to
Grice's facial muscles which thus acted as radiators offloading heat from the
redirected blood.
One may wonder why he would like to 'mean' that.
M. Green wrote on "Grice's Frown", brilliantly. Now, THAT is a cryptic case by
Grice. I was recently re-reading his "Meaning Revisited", and he has this
example,
"By that gesture he meant that he was fed up".
So, Grice was still using 'mean' without scare quotes -- unlike Stevenson, who
the early Grice worshipped.
This from today's New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/science/28qna.html
"As for why people yawn, “it is not entirely known,” Dr. Ebben said. “
However, the most recent data suggests that it is part of a thermoregulatory
response that helps cool the brain by shunting blood to facial muscles that
act as radiators and offload heat from the redirected blood.”"
----
To reconsider, then, using Grice's neologism, almost, of 'mean':
"That yawn meant-nn that he was fed up"
---- "I mean 'that gesture' in the use apt for communication" -- or something,
Grice has it.
----
"That yawn meant-nn that he was fed up."
Strictly, what that yawn 'meant' -- as Stevenson properly would have it in
scare quotes -- is something else:
"That yawn 'meant' that the system is displaying a
part of a thermoregulatory response
to help cool the brain
--- and that response is effected
by
shunting blood to the facial muscles
which act as radiators and
thus offload heat from the redirected blood."
Or something.
Speranza
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