An evaluation about John L. Austin's speech act theory

The aim of this study is to examine and evaluate John L. Austin's Speech Act Theory. Speech Act Theory performs a philosophical analysis of expressions called performatives by Austin. By conducting such analysis, Austin offers a different kind of view against descriptive fallacy, that is a term invented by him, which affects thoughts of important figures of Analytic Philosophy such as Frege, Russell, early Wittgenstein, Ayer and the Vienna Circle. Austin is one of the important figures of Ordinary Language Philosophy movement. He emphasizes unique logic of ordinary language and with this point of view he introduces Speech Act Theory. This theory takes its beginning from the assumption that to say something is to do something. Linguistic expressions named performatives, which makes us doing something by uttering some words, is positioned opposite pole of expressions identified as constatives which can be true or false. Performatives can be felicitious or infelicitious with regard to Austin's doctrine of infelicities. After this point, Austin seeks definite criteria to base contradiction of performative-constative on a firm ground. However, he cannot find any particular criteria. For this reason, he comes up with the idea that doing something by uttering words is also applicable to constative utterances and puts away the contradiction between performative and constative made in the beginning. Thus, he paves the way for speech act theory. Austin asserts that speech acts basically rely on three acts which includes locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary act, then, he explains these three acts. After that, he concludes his examination about speech acts by defining and making classification of illocutionary acts, which are focal point of his theory, with respect to classes of illocutionary forces. Speech Act Theory of John R. Searle, who is the most important follower of Austin, and his criticisms about Austin's theory is also included in the scope of our study. Thus, developments in Speech Act Theory in post-Austinian period is mentioned by refering the example of Searle's theory. In conclusion, we finalize our discussion by emphasizing main lines of Jacques Derrida's views about Austin's theory and making a general evaluation.