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Epistemology Seminar: Alessandra Tanesini (Cardiff) “The alleged epistemic significance of silence, silencing, and the conversational norm of no silent rejections (NSR)”
Abstract: In this talk I examine, and rebut, Goldberg’s (2020) arguments in favour of a conversational norm that would defeasibly entitle linguistic agents to presume that silence indicates assent (NSR). Using evidence from conversational analysis I show that Goldberg is wrong to claim that our linguistic communities de facto conform to this norm in conversation. Instead, I argue that norms similar to NSR are temporarily enacted by means of exercitive speech acts. If this is right, and contra Goldberg, silencing is the function served by these norms rather than a product of NSR’s misapplication. Finally, I argue that because of the bounded nature of human rationality, we would not wish a system of human communication aiming at the epistemic goals of persuasion and the sharing of information to have NSR as one of its norms.