Jiwon Kim
Lund University
This paper addresses the Embedding Problem in the philosophy of language, focusing on how explicit performative utterances, despite their declarative form, embody an illocutionary force that is more than mere assertion when an imperative is embedded. Explicit performatives like “”I order you to leave”” perform actions rather than merely state facts, challenging traditional linguistic frameworks that associate grammatical moods with specific illocutionary forces. We critically explore three major theoretical responses to this problem: indirect theories, declarative theories, and direct theories, each offering different explanations for the performative nature of these utterances.
Indirect theories view explicit performatives as essentially statements, deriving their illocutionary force indirectly through contextual inference. However, this view often imposes a cognitive burden on the interpreter to deduce the speaker’s intent. Declarative theories, in contrast, argue that such utterances are akin to declarations that inherently perform the actions they declare, effectively changing reality to align with their propositional content. Yet, this approach may overly broaden the category of declarations to include even non-institutional speech acts, leading to potential overgeneralisation.
This paper advocates for Austinian direct theories, proposing that explicit performatives are not about stating or declaring but are direct actions themselves. Unlike declarative and indirect approaches, direct theories emphasise the performative aspect of these utterances as transformative acts that do not merely report or describe but actively constitute reality.
This exploration not only refines our understanding of speech acts but also enhances our grasp of how language functions in social interaction, suggesting that the conventional association between grammatical mood and illocutionary force is more complex and less correlated than traditionally thought.
Chair: Horia Lixandru
Time: September 11th, 17:00 – 17:30
Location: SR 1.005 (online)
SOPhiA 2026 