[lit-ideas] Popper the Comedian
- From: "" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2015 05:18:41 -0400
On the other hand, as tapes of Grice's lectures -- now in the Grice
collection testify -- are BY ROUTINE interrupted by open LAUGHTER from the
audience.
In a message dated 4/29/2015 4:27:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
As regards Investigations being regarded as "funny", Wittgenstein may be
like the Popper of the 1930s who was once taken unawares by an audience
response of clapping and cheering when Popper said "I believe in science but
not in induction", which was taken as a mere joke by an audience trained in
the dogma that science is based on 'induction'.
"Do not multiply senses beyond necessity" (Modified Occam's Razor). Does
'funny' have two senses? It may be argued that funny-ha ha derives from funny
peculiar.
a mere joke.
"mere" should not have several senses either. Cfr.
"taken unawares by an audience response of clapping and cheering when
Popper said [that p] which was taken as a mere joke."
vs.
"taken as a joke."
Usually, humour is not humorous, as most humorous theorists like to say.
For "p", as uttered by Popper to count as a 'joke', we should start by
asking:
i. Is it perlocutionary?
ii. Is it illocutionary.
I.e. is it by the uttering of "p" that Popper's addressee clapped and
cheered.
and, to use McEvoy's phrase, was this clapping and cheering 'accident' or
'design'?
The context makes it clear that Popper never intended "p" to count as a
'joke' and provoke much (or any) clapping and cheering.
So why was Grice _different_?
Cheers,
Speranza
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