Figleaves Right and Left: A Case-Study of Viewpoint Diversity Applied to the Philosophy of Language
1 University of Waterloo, Ontario, CA;
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 3 Jun 2021 / Revised: 9 Mar 2022 / Accepted: 13 Mar 2022 / Published: 29 Apr 2022
Abstract
This paper investigates a linguistic device that was only recently proposed, the figleaf, whose function is to prevent a bigoted statement from being interpreted as bigoted. Previous research on figleaves focused on examples of speech by conservative politicians, commentators, and their supporters. My main contributions here are coverage of figleaves across a wider range of the political spectrum and an enhanced taxonomy of figleaves, which can sharpen our theoretical understanding of the psychological and social mechanisms that facilitate bigoted speech. In light of important recent developments in the social and psychological sciences, this paper also illustrates some benefits of incorporating viewpoint diversity into philosophical research on controversial social and political topics.
Keywords: language; speech acts; intolerance; bigotry; politics; ideology; bias; viewpoint diversity
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CITE
Turri, J. Figleaves Right and Left: A Case-Study of Viewpoint Diversity Applied to the Philosophy of Language. Controversial_Ideas 2022, 2, 7.
Turri J. Figleaves Right and Left: A Case-Study of Viewpoint Diversity Applied to the Philosophy of Language. Journal of Controversial Ideas. 2022; 2(1):7.
Turri, John. 2022. "Figleaves Right and Left: A Case-Study of Viewpoint Diversity Applied to the Philosophy of Language." Controversial_Ideas 2, no. 1: 7.
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