Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Two)

Steve Gimbell, a philosopher, discusses Paul Grice's work on meaning and conversation. They explore the difficulties of understanding conversations through transcripts and the limitations of fixed meaning in communication. They analyze the emergence of early analytic philosophy and its response to rising fascism. The significance of Grice's work in cognitive science and AI is explored, highlighting the challenges of programming computers to understand contextual nuances. They also discuss the idea of intentionally violating language rules in conversation and the importance of understanding conversational norms. The concept of conventional and nonconventional conversation is analyzed, questioning the scope of discourse and considering intentional deception in a theory of meaning.