0:00:00.000,0:00:05.182 Last time, we discussed what arguments are 0:00:05.182,0:00:09.165 for, their purposes.[br]We saw that arguments have at least three 0:00:09.165,0:00:12.103 purposes,[br]namely, persuasion, justification, and 0:00:12.103,0:00:15.238 explanation.[br]We also saw that one way to explain 0:00:15.238,0:00:20.200 something is to cite its purpose.[br]So, we can understand why Joe went to the 0:00:20.200,0:00:25.163 store by seeing that he went to the store[br]because he wanted some milk. 0:00:25.163,0:00:29.864 So his purpose was to get milk.[br]Similarly, we can understand arguments by 0:00:29.864,0:00:33.455 looking at their purposes, and that's what[br]we did last time. 0:00:33.455,0:00:36.612 But this time,[br]we're looking at a different kind of 0:00:36.612,0:00:39.764 explanation.[br]And as we saw, one way to explain things 0:00:39.764,0:00:43.885 is to look at the material.[br]So you want to understand why a MacBook 0:00:43.885,0:00:47.280 Air is so light, the answer is, it's made[br]out of aluminum. 0:00:47.280,0:00:52.270 Similarly, if we want to understand[br]arguments, we're going to gain understanding 0:00:52.270,0:00:56.341 by looking carefully at the material that[br]they're made out of. 0:00:56.341,0:01:01.332 And we saw that arguments are sets of[br]sentences, statements, and propositions. 0:01:01.332,0:01:04.155 So that means they're made out of[br]language. 0:01:04.155,0:01:08.752 So, in this lecture, and the next few,[br]we're going to look at the nature of 0:01:08.752,0:01:11.970 language in order to better understand[br]arguments. 0:01:11.970,0:01:17.166 So, if we know that arguments are made out[br]of language, we know that the only 0:01:17.166,0:01:21.542 creatures who can give arguments are ones[br]that can use language. 0:01:21.542,0:01:27.011 Now some people think that other animals[br]can use language, and there's a minimum 0:01:27.011,0:01:30.020 kind of language that other animals can[br]use. 0:01:30.020,0:01:35.284 But other animals cannot use language[br]that's complex enough to make argument 0:01:35.284,0:01:37.814 with.[br]It might seem that there's some 0:01:37.814,0:01:40.139 exceptions.[br]Here's one possibility. 0:01:40.139,0:01:50.081 But no matter what it sounds 0:01:50.081,0:01:55.300 like, this goat is not really arguing.[br]Maybe he's fighting, maybe he's fending 0:01:55.300,0:01:59.008 off what he takes to be an enemy, but he's[br]not arguing. 0:01:59.008,0:02:04.433 So, if other animals can use language, we[br]can't define humans as the animal that 0:02:04.433,0:02:07.523 talks.[br]But we can define humans as the animal 0:02:07.523,0:02:11.162 that argues,[br]or as Aristotle said, the rational animal, 0:02:11.162,0:02:15.282 the animal that reasons, because other[br]animals don't do that. 0:02:15.282,0:02:19.540 Humans are the only one that argues and[br]reasons in this sense. 0:02:19.540,0:02:22.249 So,[br]we can understand humans and arguments 0:02:22.249,0:02:27.603 better if we understand language better.[br]Now I can't tell you everything that needs 0:02:27.603,0:02:31.861 to be said about language.[br]You'd need to take a linguistics course 0:02:31.861,0:02:34.571 for that.[br]And I recommend that you try one, 0:02:34.571,0:02:39.280 because it's very interesting.[br]But here I'm only going to be able to make 0:02:39.280,0:02:43.667 four basic points about language.[br]First of all, language is important. 0:02:43.667,0:02:47.086 Second, it's conventional.[br]Third, it's representational. 0:02:47.086,0:02:50.905 And fourth, it's social.[br]That should at least get us going in 0:02:50.905,0:02:55.260 understanding what arguments are made of.[br]First, language is important. 0:02:55.860,0:03:00.498 It would be extremely difficult to live[br]life without language. 0:03:00.498,0:03:05.735 Just try to imagine what it would be like.[br]It's really hard to imagine. 0:03:05.735,0:03:11.945 But think about someone like Helen Keller,[br]who was born able to see and hear, but 0:03:11.945,0:03:16.210 very shortly thereafter lost her ability[br]to see and hear. 0:03:16.210,0:03:22.368 It was only much later in life that she[br]gained the ability to use language, 0:03:22.368,0:03:26.000 because she never had that in her early[br]years. 0:03:26.000,0:03:29.790 And when she gained that ability, she was[br]amazed. 0:03:30.193,0:03:34.768 W, a, t, e, r, water.[br]It has a name. 0:03:34.768,0:03:35.307 W, a, t. 0:03:36.787,0:03:47.418 When Helen Keller gained the ability to[br]use language and to communicate, she 0:03:47.418,0:03:52.492 didn't become able to see or hear.[br]She still couldn't see or hear, but she 0:03:52.492,0:03:56.186 could do amazing things.[br]She went around the country giving 0:03:56.186,0:03:59.379 presentations.[br]She graduated from Radcliffe College. 0:03:59.379,0:04:03.637 All of that was made available to her,[br]simply by adding language and 0:04:03.637,0:04:07.832 communication to her life.[br]So language is extremely useful, and that 0:04:07.832,0:04:12.402 explains why it's all around us.[br]Just imagine walking down the streets of 0:04:12.402,0:04:17.161 the city and all the signs that you'd see.[br]You just see words here, there and 0:04:17.161,0:04:19.571 everywhere.[br]And now we have a mystery. 0:04:19.571,0:04:25.133 If we're not paying attention to language,[br]then how can we use it so well to achieve 0:04:25.133,0:04:28.774 so many purposes?[br]The answer to that lies in the second 0:04:28.774,0:04:33.608 general feature of language that I want to[br]talk about, namely, language is 0:04:33.608,0:04:36.057 conventional.[br]But what's a convention? 0:04:36.057,0:04:41.553 Remember that in the United States people[br]drive on the right-hand side of the road. 0:04:41.553,0:04:44.529 That's our convention.[br]But what does that mean? 0:04:44.529,0:04:49.594 It means that there's a general pattern of[br]behavior that most people throughout 0:04:49.594,0:04:54.660 society obey on a regular basis, and they[br]criticize people who deviate from that 0:04:54.660,0:04:57.256 pattern.[br]And the same applies to language. 0:04:57.256,0:05:02.638 We have certain patterns of using words in[br]certain ways, and when people deviate from 0:05:02.638,0:05:06.943 those patterns we criticize them.[br]We say they're misspeaking or it's 0:05:06.943,0:05:09.471 ungrammatical.[br]Of course, conventions can vary. 0:05:09.471,0:05:13.494 Everybody knows that there are many[br]countries around the world where people 0:05:13.494,0:05:17.887 don't drive on the right-hand side of the[br]road, they drive on the left-hand side of 0:05:17.887,0:05:20.428 the road.[br]United Kingdom's one of them, but there 0:05:20.428,0:05:23.033 are lots more.[br]And the same applies to language. 0:05:23.033,0:05:27.665 You can have the same word that's used to[br]mean very different things in different 0:05:27.665,0:05:30.491 languages.[br]Most notorious example is football. 0:05:30.491,0:05:35.920 In the United States it's used to refer to[br]American Football whereas in the rest of 0:05:35.920,0:05:39.733 the world it's used to refer to what[br]Americans call soccer. 0:05:39.733,0:05:45.162 And people in the rest of the world think[br]that America is kind of silly because you 0:05:45.162,0:05:50.332 don't use your feet on the ball except for[br]punting and placekicking in football. 0:05:50.332,0:05:55.503 But whether it makes sense or not the[br]point here is simply that the conventions 0:05:55.503,0:05:58.670 can vary from one part of the world to the[br]other. 0:05:58.670,0:06:01.539 And of course, you can do that with any[br]word. 0:06:01.539,0:06:06.887 You could, in English, use the word, money[br]to refer to socks. At least the English 0:06:06.887,0:06:10.343 language could've done that.[br]It could've done that. 0:06:10.343,0:06:14.517 It didn't, but it could've.[br]So, in this way, conventions seem to be 0:06:14.517,0:06:17.908 kind of arbitrary.[br]They could've been very different. 0:06:17.908,0:06:22.592 But language is far from completely[br]arbitrary, because the conventions of 0:06:22.592,0:06:27.486 language have limits, and two of these[br]limits that I want to emphasize come from 0:06:27.486,0:06:31.095 the fact that language is also[br]representational and social. 0:06:31.095,0:06:36.093 So first language is representational.[br]When we use language, we're often trying 0:06:36.093,0:06:40.438 to refer to objects in the world, and[br]describe facts in the world. 0:06:40.438,0:06:45.385 And you can't change those objects or[br]those facts merely by changing your 0:06:45.385,0:06:49.061 language.[br]One good story to illustrate this is about 0:06:49.061,0:06:52.604 the young Lincoln.[br]When he was a lawyer, he supposedly 0:06:52.804,0:06:56.080 examined a witness during a trial, and he[br]said, 0:06:56.080,0:07:00.630 Okay, how many legs does a horse have?[br]And the witness said, Four. 0:07:00.630,0:07:05.299 And then Lincoln said, Well,[br]if we call a tail a leg, then how many 0:07:05.299,0:07:08.819 legs does a horse have?[br]And the witness said, Well, 0:07:08.819,0:07:12.124 then I suppose the horse would have five[br]legs. 0:07:12.124,0:07:15.357 And Lincoln said, Absolutely not.[br]That's wrong. 0:07:15.357,0:07:18.446 Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a[br]leg. 0:07:18.446,0:07:24.408 And the point of this story, whether it's[br]true historically or not, is that language 0:07:24.408,0:07:29.868 cannot change the facts of the world.[br]It can't make horses have five legs, if 0:07:29.868,0:07:33.820 you merely change your language.[br]Here's another example. 0:07:34.300,0:07:40.228 Suppose that you don't have much money,[br]But you happen to have a lot of socks in 0:07:40.228,0:07:43.859 your drawer.[br]Well, you could say, I'm going to use the 0:07:43.859,0:07:49.046 word money to refer to socks.[br]And now all of a sudden I've got lots of 0:07:49.046,0:07:51.047 money.[br]I'm not poor anymore. 0:07:51.047,0:07:55.494 It ain't going to work,[br]and that's because language, again, can't 0:07:55.494,0:08:00.903 change your financial situation[br]because that's a fact about the world, 0:08:00.903,0:08:05.350 not about how you're using the word socks[br]or the word money. 0:08:05.350,0:08:11.164 And the other limit on the conventions of[br]language comes from the fact that language 0:08:11.164,0:08:14.584 is social.[br]Sure, sometimes we talk to ourselves and 0:08:14.584,0:08:19.988 use language to write things down, write[br]notes to ourselves, for example, without 0:08:19.988,0:08:25.597 other people around but basically language[br]evolved because of its social function. 0:08:25.597,0:08:31.412 What that means is that there's a point in[br]following the conventions of the language 0:08:31.412,0:08:35.790 as shared by the rest of that society that[br]speaks that language. 0:08:35.790,0:08:41.038 I've always thought that it was[br]kind of silly that grapefruits are called 0:08:41.038,0:08:44.327 grapefruits.[br]Sure, they're fruits, but they don't look 0:08:44.327,0:08:47.236 like grapes at all.[br]They look more like lemons. 0:08:47.236,0:08:53.331 They're like really big lemons, and[br]that's why I think they ought to be called 0:08:53.331,0:08:57.238 mega lemons.[br]But If I went to a restaurant, and I 0:08:57.238,0:09:02.327 wanted to order grapefruit juice, so I[br]turned to the service person and 0:09:02.327,0:09:07.088 said, I'd like some mega lemon juice, I[br]probably wouldn't get what I wanted. 0:09:07.088,0:09:12.372 And so even if I think the language is not[br]using the right conventions, there's a 0:09:12.372,0:09:17.199 point in following the conventions of the[br]language in order to be able to 0:09:17.199,0:09:20.461 communicate with other people and get what[br]I want. 0:09:20.461,0:09:25.353 And again, the great philosophers Monty[br]Python saw this very well, when they 0:09:25.353,0:09:29.920 produced their little clip called, The Man[br]Who Speaks Only In Anagrams. 0:09:30.135,0:09:35.892 Our first guest into the studio tonight is[br]a man who talks entirely in anagrams. 0:09:36.108,0:09:39.130 Patsee Greot.[br]Do you enjoy this? 0:09:39.346,0:09:42.944 I dom certainlyodd revychumso.[br]What's your name? 0:09:43.160,0:09:46.829 Hamrack, Hamrack Yeterot.[br]So the point is obvious. 0:09:46.829,0:09:52.658 Language is shared and once it's shared[br]then it make sense to actually follow the 0:09:52.658,0:09:56.760 conventions of society even if you don't[br]like them. 0:09:56.760,0:10:02.867 Overall then, language is important, and[br]it's conventional in ways that might seem 0:10:02.867,0:10:07.014 arbitrary,[br]but actually, is limited in important ways 0:10:07.014,0:10:11.690 by the fact that language is also[br]representational and social. 0:10:11.690,0:10:14.856 But it's kind of cheap to say language is[br]conventional. 0:10:14.856,0:10:19.099 Which are the conventions?[br]Which are the rules that language follows? 0:10:19.099,0:10:23.461 And this is actually extremely complex,[br]because language follows rules or 0:10:23.461,0:10:27.584 conventions at many different levels.[br]Just take a real simple example. 0:10:27.584,0:10:30.990 You walk into a pizza shop and you say,[br]Gimme pepperoni. 0:10:30.990,0:10:34.500 Well, the person then fixes a pepperoni[br]pizza. 0:10:34.734,0:10:37.933 And you pay for it.[br]But how did that work? 0:10:37.933,0:10:43.347 That you said, Gimme pepperoni.[br]Well, first of all notice, that you had to 0:10:43.347,0:10:48.043 use words that were meaningful to the[br]person you were speaking to. 0:10:48.043,0:10:51.379 Gimme wasn't a word in English, a long[br]time ago, 0:10:51.379,0:10:56.537 but this person understands gimme as a[br]word, and therefore they can understand 0:10:56.537,0:10:58.984 it.[br]But in addition to those semantic 0:10:58.984,0:11:03.349 constraints, you also have to have[br]physical production constraints. 0:11:03.349,0:11:07.978 You have to say it loud enough.[br]If the pizza shop is really noisy, then 0:11:07.978,0:11:13.665 you have to speak pretty loudly to get the[br]person behind the counter, to understand 0:11:13.665,0:11:17.435 what you're saying.[br]You also have to put the words in the 0:11:17.435,0:11:20.808 right order.[br]If, instead of saying, gimme a pepperoni 0:11:20.808,0:11:23.980 pizza, you said,[br]Pizza a gimme pepperoni, 0:11:23.980,0:11:27.069 they might not understand at all what[br]you're saying. 0:11:27.069,0:11:31.346 So there are structural combination rules[br]that you have to follow as well. 0:11:31.346,0:11:35.980 And there are also etiquette rules. In[br]some pizza places if you just said, 0:11:35.980,0:11:39.176 Gimme pepperoni, the waiter might say,[br]Well, forget it, sir. 0:11:39.176,0:11:41.900 I don't serve such impolite[br]people. 0:11:41.900,0:11:46.233 I certainly would say that to my son if my[br]son said, Gimme pepperoni. 0:11:46.233,0:11:50.133 I wouldn't get him a piece.[br]I'd say, you need to ask me properly. 0:11:50.319,0:11:55.395 So rules of etiquette can also get in the[br]way of communication and cooperation. 0:11:55.395,0:11:58.119 So language operates at all of these[br]levels. 0:11:58.119,0:12:02.948 Physical production, semantics, or the[br]meanings of words, syntax, or the rules of 0:12:02.948,0:12:07.576 grammar, and etiquette.[br]Now all of this might seem obvious to you. 0:12:07.576,0:12:13.953 And it probably should be obvious to you.[br]But the rules of language are not always 0:12:13.953,0:12:17.920 obvious.[br]And that's what we're going to be learning 0:12:17.920,0:12:22.275 throughout this course.[br]I'll start with a simple example. 0:12:22.275,0:12:24.919 What's this?[br]Well, that is a finger. 0:12:24.919,0:12:26.552 Okay.[br]But what's this? 0:12:26.552,0:12:28.341 Aaaah.[br]That is a singer. 0:12:28.341,0:12:31.530 This is not a finger.[br]That's not a singer. 0:12:31.530,0:12:39.352 Why do we pronounce the word finger with a[br]hard G and the word singer with a soft G? 0:12:39.352,0:12:46.709 That's a rule that we all follow, but very[br]few people know the rule behind that 0:12:46.709,0:12:50.248 pronunciation.[br]So, do you know the rule? 0:12:50.248,0:12:58.320 Take a little while and think about it.[br]. 0:13:08.020,0:13:11.916 Have you got it yet?[br]Okay, I'll tell you the answer. 0:13:11.916,0:13:17.761 When a word ends in N, G, E, R, and it's[br]derived from a verb that ends in NG, then 0:13:17.761,0:13:22.826 you get a soft G, like singer.[br]But when the word that ends in N, G, E, R, 0:13:22.826,0:13:28.827 is not derived from a verb that ends in[br]NG, then you get either a hard G, like 0:13:28.827,0:13:32.334 finger,[br]Or a kind of medium G like plunger or 0:13:32.334,0:13:36.215 danger.[br]Now when you get that medium G or that 0:13:36.215,0:13:40.532 hard G that's a trickier question.[br]And I don't know the answer to that one, 0:13:40.532,0:13:45.257 which shows that we can all use language[br]according to rules, without knowing what 0:13:45.257,0:13:48.582 the rules are.[br]We don't have to be conscious of the rules 0:13:48.582,0:13:51.440 at all.[br]And a lot of what we're going to be doing 0:13:51.440,0:13:55.932 in this course is looking behind our[br]language to try to figure out the rules 0:13:55.932,0:14:00.483 that govern the way we use language,[br]especially when we're making arguments in 0:14:00.483,0:14:03.049 order to better understand what we're[br]doing. 0:14:03.049,0:14:06.900 Some of the answers we give will be[br]obvious once you mention them. 0:14:06.900,0:14:10.060 But, I bet you hadn't thought of him[br]before.