Frames affecting central debates within analytic philosophy of language
Zsófia Zvolenszky (Institute of Philosophy, Eötvös Univesity)

20 May 2022, 16:00 (Lisbon Time – WET) | Sala Mattos Romão (Departamento de Filosofia)

Abstract: The cognitive linguist George Lakoff focuses on frames affecting political discourse: when tax cuts were labelled “tax relief”, a frame was invoked according to which taxes are an undesirable, negative burden, an affliction; and relief from taxes is a desirable, positive outcome; and whoever relieves that burden is a hero. When the label “tax relief” — as though it was neutral — was adopted across the American political spectrum, it created a tilted playing field that worked against proponents of tax increases (who favored increasing funding for education, healthcare, social services, or championed an additional tax for the wealthy). To level the playing field, and prevent being cast as anti-heroes, proponents of tax increases need to reframe the debate, by, among other things, switching to neutral labels, advises Lakoff. After all, most often without us knowing it, framing shapes affects how we see the world, by invoking memories, feelings, emotions, associations, opinions, preferences, images, thereby affecting, in turn, our decision-making.
Meanwhile, framing is plausibly present, while unrecognized, in discourse of all sorts, including academic discourse across disciplines, among them philosophy, and, within that, philosophy of language. Meanwhile, frames aren’t much discussed within analytic philosophy of language, which has, historically, focused on truth conditions, propositional content, information expressed by linguistic utterances. Notice that this very approach invokes a kind of frame about what is and isn’t the subject matter of linguistic theorizing! I will provide case studies about how unreflected-upon aspects of framing within philosophy of language have been hindering debates: preventing, delaying for long, needed reframing in debates ranging from presuppositions, proper names to fictional discourse, to slurs and pejoratives. These case studies will illustrate ways in which unreflected-upon frames have had lasting influence, remaining operative and delimiting within philosophical debates. These, in turn, presents counterexamples to a proposal of Elisabeth Camp’s (“Perspectives and Frames in Pursuit of Ultimate Understanding” 2019) who holds that a chosen frame’s role diminishes, disappears in later stages of inquiry; as details are understood, theories transcend initially introduced frames as being oversimplified.

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