Peirces account of assertion

• Ano de defesa: 2016
• Autor(a) principal: Iglesias, Jaime Orlando Alfaro
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Asserção; Assertion; C.S. Peirce; Dialogical semantics; Pragmatism; Pragmatismo; Proposições; Propositions; Semântica dialógica
• Link de acesso: http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/8/8133/tde-12092016-123010/

One usually makes assertions by means of uttering indicative sentences like It is raining. However, not every utterance of an indicative sentence is an assertion. For example, in uttering I will be back tomorrow, one might be making a promise. What is to make an assertion? C.S. Peirce held the view that to assert a proposition is to make oneself responsible for its truth (CP 5.543). In this thesis, I interpret Peirces view of assertion and I evaluate Peirces reasons for holding it. I begin by reconstructing and assessing Peirces case for such view as it appears in (EP 2.140, 1903), (EP 2.312-313, 1904), and (CP 5.546, 1908). Then, I continue by elaborating on three aspects of Peirces view of assertion, namely, assertion as an act involving a certain kind of responsibility, the proposition as what is asserted, and responsibility for truth as a responsibility to give reasons. With respect to these three aspects, I argue for the following claims: (1) Peirce construed the responsibility involved in asserting as a moral responsibility; (2) Peirce held that propositions are types; and (3) Peirce was committed to a dialogical interpretation of responsibility to give reasons. Finally, I end by presenting two objections to Peirces view of assertion and its corresponding replies. I conclude that Peirces account of assertion is a valuable contribution to the philosophical debate on assertion.