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Ideas for 'talk', 'Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy' and 'Knowledge by Agreement'

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2 ideas

19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 9. Indexical Semantics
The references of indexicals ('there', 'now', 'I') depend on the circumstances of utterance [Mautner]
     Full Idea: Indexicals are expressions whose references depend on the circumstances of utterance, such as 'here', 'now', 'last month' 'I', 'you'. It was introduced by Peirce; Reichenbach called them 'token-reflexive', Russell 'ego-centric particulars'.
     From: Thomas Mautner (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy [1996], p.272)
     A reaction: Peirce's terminology seems best. They obviously create great problems for any theory of reference which is rather theoretical and linguistic, such as by the use of descriptions. You can't understand 'Look at that!' without practical awareness.
19. Language / F. Communication / 1. Rhetoric
Often socialising people is the only way to persuade them [Kusch]
     Full Idea: Often we can convince members of other cultures only by socializing them into our culture.
     From: Martin Kusch (Knowledge by Agreement [2002], Ch.19)
     A reaction: This looks both true and interesting, and is good support for Kusch's communitarian epistemology. What actually persuades certainly doesn't have to be reasons, and may be almost entirely social.