J. M. Geary writes, emphatically:
"I don't give a tinker's damn whether Grice was a European philosopher or a
Japanese philosopher or any kind of philosopher at all."
The problem is perhaps whether a Japanese tinker, say, would also NOT give a
damn.
Apparently, Grice is NOT a European philosopher. Oddly, he is not a Japanese
philosopher, either -- talking of Japanese.
"Any kind of philosopher" I dunno.
Now, Popper was a European philosopher.
Philosophers, some of which are illogical, make two distinctions:
-- the analytic-synthetic distinction (which Quine found otiose)
-- the analytic-continental distinction (which Quine found funny-ha-ha).
Popper acquired British citizenship; so, by today's standards, he would NOT be
considered a European philosopher.
Grice acquired North American citizenship (or "UC/Berkeley citizenship," as he
joked) so he would NOT be considered a European philosopher on TWO basis, at
least.
When Oxford was in England, European Union, a case might be made to the effect
that Grice, but not Popper, was a European philosopher.
When Julius Caesar conquered Britain, the European Union was still
non-existent, so we can say that Julius Caesar was NOT a European dictator.
It's so confusing...
McEvoy may want us to educate us on the binding of the recent referendum. He
was recently referring to the cliché, "it may need further research".
Apparently, the problem is that if Grice is not a European philosopher, but
"Grice" is a Scots surname (meaning 'extinct pig'), the recent referendum may
motivate a new one in Scotland that would make Scotland part of Europe, and
thus Grice a European philosopher ('by blood,' as Julius Caesar would say).
The New York Times recently published a photo of some customs facilities in
Northern Ireland, I think it was, with the caption that ran, "while closed for
some time, these may be reopen in the future." Because Ireland is Europe, but
Ulster ain't, as I write.
If Grice is not a European philosopher, European philosophers should perhaps
NOT use the lexeme "implicature" -- Or not: Ireland's official languages
include English, and since Ireland is in Europe, Europeans may still say
'implicature'. In French, 'implicature' is said "implicature", but pronounced
differently. In German, the term used is "Implikatur". And if Turkey becomes
part of Europe, we should consider Turkish for "implicatura," too.
Sidonius, a Frenchman, used "inplicaturis" meaning 'entanglements'. The item
caught the attention of Short and Lewis when compiling their Latin Dictionary
(published by the Clarendon Press). So, a case may be made for the idea that
'implicatura' IS a European notion, since Sidonius was writing in Southern
France (which is still in Europe).
"Still" invites, usually, a wrong implicature. But two wrongs, in implicature
terms, make a right.
Or as Grice prefers, makes a Wright (von Wright -- but he dropped the 'von' as
otiose -- was Grice's favourite philosopher, after himself -- i.e. after Grice).
Cheers,
Speranza
Or not.
Cheers,
Speranza
