Interpreting understanding context

C. Colebrook; A. McHoul

doi:10.1016/0378-2166(95)00012-7

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Journal article

Peer reviewed

Interpreting understanding context

C. Colebrook and A. McHoul

Journal of Pragmatics, Vol.25(3), pp.431-440

1996

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(95)00012-7

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Abstract

John Searle's (1977) objections, based in speech act theory, to Jacques Derrida's ‘grammatological’ or ‘deconstructive’ ideas about language, text and writing are well known — as are Derrida's (1977, 1978a, 1988) replies and, perhaps, Searle's responses (1983, 1994). More recently, however, Jeff Coulter (1994) in Journal of Pragmatics has launched a different criticism of Derrida, based in Wittgensteinian and ethnomethodological theory, and directed at what Coulter thinks of as Derrida's unduly indeterminate and interpretable conception of context. In this paper, we want to respond to some features of Coulter's criticism, to argue that it mistakes some of Derrida's arguments and, finally, to try to show that, if these (Derrida's) arguments are put properly, the differences between Derrida's and Coulter's positions can be slightly reduced.

Details

Title: Interpreting understanding context
Authors/Creators: C. Colebrook (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
A. McHoul (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
Publication Details: Journal of Pragmatics, Vol.25(3), pp.431-440
Publisher: Elsevier
Identifiers: 991005543554307891
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Humanities
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Citation topics: 6 Social Sciences; 6.69 Language & Linguistics; 6.69.610 Discourse Pragmatics
Web Of Science research areas: Language & Linguistics; Linguistics
ESI research areas: Social Sciences, general