TFL Vsebine / Revija Revus

Nov tip konvencij? Nekaj pripomb k Celanovim Pred-konvencijam. Celano v omenjeni razpravi zagovarja obstoj in filozofsko pomembnost posebnega tipa konvencij, ki je drugačen od doslej obravnavanih in presega vrsto običajnih filozofskih delitev. Gre za »pred-konvencije«. Avtor komentarja meni, da je Celanu nemara res uspelo dokazati obstoj tega tipa konvencij, ki vladajo našim sodbam o slogu ali okusu. Če to drži, nas lahko njihovo preučevanje nauči marsičesa (mdr. o razmerju med konvencijami in pravili). Kljub temu pa avtor podvomi v izpolnitev širših ambicij Celanove razprave. Meni namreč, da pred-konvencije niso tako pogoste, kot trdi Celano, in da niti niso prisotne v vseh primerih, ki jih slednji poda. Končno pa podvomi še v resničnost Celanove trditve, da ta nov tip konvencij dejansko omogoča razvoj tistih, bolj poznanih, za katere se je zanimal David Lewis.

In “Pre-conventions: A fragment of the Background”, Bruno Celano argues for the existence and philosophical significance of what he calls “pre-conventions” – a type of convention distinct from those hitherto discussed in the literature, and which transcends a number of orthodox philosophical distinctions. In these comments, I suggest that Celano may have shown that there is a distinct type of convention governing judgments of style or taste. If so, we may learn some important lessons (e.g. concerning the relationship between conventions and rules) by examining this new type of convention. However, I express doubts about whether the broader ambitions of Celano’s paper are fulfilled. I contend that pre-conventions are not as common as he suggests, and are not present in some of the other examples he gives. I also express doubts about whether he is right to suggest that there is a distinct type of convention that renders possible the development of conventions of the sort which David Lewis was interested in.