Are Selfless Assertions Hedged?

  • Grzegorz Gaszczyk
Keywords: Assertion, Selfless assertion, Norms of assertion, Knowledge norm, Hedging

Abstract

I argue against Milić’s (2017) proposal of analyzing “selfless assertions” (Lackey 2007) as proper, i.e., as assertions which satisfy the norm of assertion. In his view, selfless assertions are hedged assertions governed by the knowledge norm. In my critique, I show that Milić does not make a case that selfless assertions constitute such a special class of assertions. Moreover, he does not deliver a clear criterion for differentiating between flat-out assertions and hedged ones. What is more, his proposal leaves some cases of selfless assertions unexplained. The outcome is that we are still left without a satisfactory account of selfless assertions as proper assertions.

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How to Cite
Gaszczyk, G. (1) “Are Selfless Assertions Hedged?”, Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio, 13(1). Available at: http://rifl.unical.it/index.php/rifl/article/view/531 (Accessed: 28March2024).
Section
Assertion and Epistemology