This paper criticizes the theory that runs through Searle's two books on social ontology, The Construction of Social Reality (1995) and Making the Social World (2010). This theory is critized along...Show moreThis paper criticizes the theory that runs through Searle's two books on social ontology, The Construction of Social Reality (1995) and Making the Social World (2010). This theory is critized along the following lines: (1) it does not cover all that we would properly call 'the social world' and (2) on the parts that it does cover, Searle's conception of collective intentionality causes it to be, in important respects, self-defeating. Finally, the case is made for a theory on the social world that pays more mind to the human experience of that social world. Had Searle paid more attention to the human experience when constructing his theory, the above two lines of criticism may not have been applicable in the first place.Show less
Pragmatic processing has always been an interesting topic which could shed light on perhaps one of the most intriguing phenomena of human beings, that of communication. In my thesis, pragmatic...Show morePragmatic processing has always been an interesting topic which could shed light on perhaps one of the most intriguing phenomena of human beings, that of communication. In my thesis, pragmatic processing will be examined through an ‘outsider’ lens, that of ‘shared intentionality’. The notion of ‘shared intentionality’ (or collective intentionality) has been developed and studied within the realm of philosophy of action (Chant et. al, 2014: 1). A joint act between two or more agents is upheld by an infrastructure of ‘shared intentionality’, which imposes mutual commitment, support, and obligation from all agents in pursuit of a common goal. Communication, viewed as a joint act (Clark, 1996), might surely be examined through the lens of ‘shared intentionality’. The central idea focuses on how ‘shared intentionality’, subserving as the psychological infrastructure, accounts for pragmatic processing in communicative acts. Within the course of pragmatic processing, I would propose and argue that shared intentionality works side by side with the main pragmatic theories in helping both interlocutors reach the ultimate shared goal of the joint communicative act: that of the hearer arriving at the intended meaning by the speaker.Show less
