Linguistic Theories

Grice's Maxims

Grice suggested that conversation is based on a shared principle of cooperation, something like: "Make your conversational contribution what is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged."

This principle was fleshed out in a series of maxims.

1.      The maxim of quantity, where one tries to be as informative as one possibly can, and gives as much information as is needed, and no more.

2.      The maxim of quality, where one tries to be truthful, and does not give information that is false or that is not supported by evidence.

3.      The maxim of relation, where one tries to be relevant, and says things that are pertinent to the discussion.

4.      The maxim of manner, when one tries to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as one can in what one says, and where one avoids obscurity and ambiguity.

Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French historian and philosopher, associated with the structuralist and post-structuralist movements. He has had strong influence not only (or even primarily) in philosophy but also in a wide range of humanistic and social scientific disciplines

Bourdieu

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu approaches power within the context of a comprehensive ‘theory of society’ which – like that of Foucault – his subject was mainly Algerian and French society, Bourdieu’s approach is useful in analysing power in development and social change processes. While Foucault sees power as ‘ubiquitous’ and beyond agency or structure, Bourdieu sees power as culturally and symbolically created, and constantly re-legitimised through an interplay of agency and structure. The main way this happens is through what he calls ‘habitus’ or socialised norms or tendencies that guide behaviour and thinking.