Simpson, Robert Mark;
(2021)
Language and Legitimation.
In: Khoo, Justin and Sterken, Rachel, (eds.)
The Routledge Handbook of Social and Political Philosophy of Language.
Routledge: Abingdon, UK.
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Abstract
The verb to legitimate is often used in political discourse in a way that is prima facie perplexing. To wit, it is often said that an actor legitimates a practice which is officially prohibited in the relevant context – for example, that a worker telling sexist jokes legitimates sex discrimination in the workplace. In order to clarify the meaning of statements like this, and show how they can sometimes be true and informative, we need an explanation of how something that is officially illegitimate can have a kind of ersatzlegitimacy conferred on it, and how this can occur even when the actor ‘doing the legitimating’ lacks formal authority. I examine one putative explanation centred around the phenomenon of normalization, and I highlight some advantages that this account has in comparison to an alternative explanation, one which makes reference to the phenomenon of licensed authority.
| Type: | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Title: | Language and Legitimation |
| ISBN: | 1000375498 |
| ISBN-13: | 9780367759575 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-o... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Philosophy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10181242 |
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