Abstract
Criticism may degenerate into quibbling or nitpicking. How can discussants keep quibblers under control? In the paper we investigate cases in which a battle about words replaces a discussion of the matters that are actually at issue as well as cases in which a battle about minor objections replaces a discussion of the major issues. We survey some lines of discussion dealing with these situations in profiles of dialogue.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 3459-3476 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Synthese |
Volume | 198 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 19-Jun-2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr-2021 |
Event | Journées d’études : Pinailler, entre souci de précision et bavardage, - Centre de recherche approches pragmatiques en philosophie du language et de la communication (APPLA&CO), Laboratoire Communication, Information, Médias, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France Duration: 25-Nov-2016 → 26-Nov-2016 |
Keywords
- Criticism
- Difference of opinion
- Freedom rule
- Hairsplitting
- Nitpicking
- Objection
- Profile of dialogue
- Quibble
- Talking at cross-purposes