Naturalizing assertion

null, Peter van Elswyk (Rutgers University)

This talk is about how to naturalize assertion. Attention is given to two components: how assertion expresses a propositional attitude, and how speakers incur responsibility by asserting.  I will argue that the first component comes from the mindreading faculty: the attitude expressed by assertion is the default attitude that participants represent speakers as taking towards the content of declaratives. The normative component is then argued to be the result of social norms that emerge to ensure the reliability of such default mindreading. Though this proposal is neutral on which attitude is expressed, it opens up new ways to settle the issue. As such, I conclude by suggesting that the proposal facilitates new motivations for the knowledge norm.