File spoon-archives/lyotard.archive/lyotard_1997/lyotard.9706, message 100


Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 19:48:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lois Shawver <rathbone-AT-crl.com>
Subject: Re: Lyotard & Derrida




Mathew & Hugh,

You've told a little about yourself, and your interests are certainly 
fitting with my own.  Wittgenstein is the philosopher that I am most 
comfortable with, although I have read Heidegger, too, and like you, 
Mathew, prefer later Heidegger.

The talk of Wittgenstein reminds me of the relationship between 
"language-games", a term that Lyotard uses often enough, and "genres of 
discourse".  He says that genres of discourse are complexes of language-games
See p. 271 of:

    Lyotard, J.F. Analyzing Speculative Discourse as Language Game  
    In A. Benjamin (Ed.) The Lyotard Reader, Cambridge, Mass: Basil 
    Blackwell, 1989. 265-274.

Under "genres of discourse" he lists things like "prescription", 
"denotation" and "narration", but also "poetry" and a few other things.  
It seems like an attempt to clump language games under a kind of 
classicatory system.  What is interesting, is that in The Differend, he 
talks very little about language games.  He thinks in terms of genres of 
discourse and, of course, phrase regimens.  I wonder, however, how we 
might relate phrase regimens to language games.

Lyotard is always saying that phrase regimens esbalish universes.  The
imagery that I have is that he is thinking that within language games we
have certain habits of possible responses.  Someone says, "The door is
open" and this sentence (i.e., "phrase") opens up a universe of possible
acceptable responses (e.g., "Good, it is cold outside."  "Oh, let's open
iit -- so people we know we're available," etc.) Other responses ("The
sugar bowl is empty") are irrlevant, bizarre.  Each phrase regimen,
are really patterns of possiblities for responding to something that was
just said.  This concept really emphasizes the way in which language takes
place within a framework of habits, which I think is very Wittgensteinian. 
Still, I'm pondering how this relates to "language games". 

Phrase regimens are not "languge games" because they do not function to
get things done, it seems to me.  A phrase regimen might get things done,
of course, but this isn't what characterizes it as a "phrase regimen".  
On the other hand, a particular languge game, I suppose consists of 
phrase regimens (universes of habitualized patterns  of response) and 
themselves can be classified under different genres of discourse (some 
language games being narratives, speculation, prescription, etc.?)

How does that sound?  It sounds right to me.

But if so, it leaves us with a puzzle.  Lyotard says that there are no 
differends produced unless people trying to talk at cross purposes 
because they are talking from different genres of discourse.  I think his 
imagination of how differends produce is just to broad.  I think there 
can be differends produced with language-games conflict.

Thoughts anyone?

..Lois Shawver



   

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