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    Lyotard's combative theory of discourse

    Weber, Alexander (1990) Lyotard's combative theory of discourse. Telos: Critical Theory Of the Contemporary 83 , pp. 141-150. ISSN 0090-6514.

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    Abstract

    Book synopsis: “Parler, c'est agir” is an old rhetorical commonplace. Speech is generally regarded as an instrument of communication and understanding. Lyotard, however, wants to replace communication with agon; to him speech is a contest: “parler est combattre.” He emphatically rejects the humanist notion that language is in a state of harmony disrupted only by the speakers' opposing interests. For Lyotard, the idea that individuals control language is an anthropocentric illusion. The internal structure of language necessarily places it in a condition of bellum omnium contra omnes. Lyotard finds this civil war in the heterogeneity of language. According to him, all phrases are formed according to certain rules — “régimes de phrases” (to reason, to know, to describe, to narrate, to ask etc.).

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Depositing User: Sarah Hall
    Date Deposited: 18 Jun 2018 14:06
    Last Modified: 18 Jun 2018 14:06
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/22816

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