Pragmatics and Emotion

Tim Wharton is a linguist based at the University of Brighton. His research explores territories beyond those regarded as the 'traditional' fields of linguists and as a result, he has worked with poets, artists, clinicians, designers and even mathematicians to expand the boundaries of linguistic pragmatics. Louis de Saussure is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) where he co-founded the Cognitive Science Centre. He has published extensively in semantics, in pragmatics and in discourse analysis.

• 1. Introduction: 1.1 Prolegomena; 1.2 Clocks and clouds; 1.3 Overview; 1.3.1 Chapter two; 1.3.2 Chapter three; 1.3.3 Chapter four; 1.3.4 Chapter five; 1.3.5 Chapter six; 1.3.6 Chapter seven; 1.3.7 Chapter eight. 2. Pragmatics and emotion – the challenges: 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Two challenges; 2.2.1 Description versus expression; 2.2.2 Propositions and ineffability; 2.3 Pragmatics. 3. What is emotion?: 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 The early history of emotion studies; 3.2.1 Aristotle to Hume; 3.2.2 Charles Darwin and William James; 3.3 Affective science; 3.3.1 Three views; 3.3.2 Basic emotion; 3.3.3 Constructed emotion; 3.3.4 The view from appraisal theory. 4. From proto-pragmatics to pragmatics: 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Towards expressive meaning; 4.3 Bally's parole; 4.4 Speech acts: how to do things with words (and emotional expressions); 4.5 Alternatives. 5. Relevance theory, non–propositional content and ineffability: 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Relevance; 5.2.1 Theory; 5.2.2 Applications, concepts, procedures; 5.2.3 Ineffability; 5.3 Two notions of relevance? 6. Beyond propositions: 6.1 Introduction; 6.2 Affective effects; 6.2.1 Primary affective effects; 6.2.2 Secondary affective effects: emotion and poetry; 6.2.3 Affective effects and persuasion. 7. Emotion and evolution: 7.1 Introduction; 7.2 Creature construction; 7.2.1 Pirot #1: the sea-sponge; 7.2.1 Towards a sensorium: the direct route; 7.2.3 Pirot #2: the lizard and emotion; 7.2.4 Humean projection: the indirect route. 8. Pragmatics and emotion – the challenges revisited: 8.1 Introduction; 8.2 Two challenges; 8.2.1 Expressing and describing; 8.2.2 Propositions and ineffability; 8.3 Pragmatics and emotion – closing remarks.

'Wharton and de Saussure's Pragmatics and Emotion is a stimulating read and provides much food for thought. They convincingly argue the centrality of emotions to human experience and to language usage, despite perennial neglect throughout the history of Western philosophy. Their modifications of Relevance Theory are no doubt a welcome contribution to the field, and this book will be of interest not only to those working in linguistic pragmatics, but also those with an interest in the philosophy of language, evolutionary psychology, and the cognitive sciences more broadly.' Richard J. Whitt, John Benjamins e-Platform