The Counterexample (3)

There are not prior conditions of talking. Posterior testimony and its evaluation tell the tale of how you came to say what you said, if there is any tale to be told at all. The idea that there are first principles of talk, i.e., a philosophy of talk, or (to bow to erudition) a philosophy of language, is an academic abstraction.

In order to have such a philosophy, you have to recast talk into something that it is not. In order to do this you cannot be paying attention to what people say when they are talking. That is why I have said elsewhere that, unlike Will Rogers, a philosopher never meets a man he ever likes, because he does not listen to him talk. (November 17, 2006)

The context of understanding in this example is determined after what is said. Each remark fits(if it fits at all) with a prior remark after you hear it. Not before. And you may have to ask what a current remark has to do with a prior one. Or vice versa. When would you ask that? Again, later. Not prior.

==============

Dash dropped by a couple of posts ago and made an interesting comment about Chomsky providing the math, if you will, for Derrida and Foucault. This is a reasonable view unless you see it the way I do:

I want to say that there is not any mathematical theory to approach the conversation because, in dialogue, the question of what this(what someone says) has to do with that(something else that someone says) is answered after the fact, not before it.

This, of course, is the case, if it is to be answered at all. Sometimes there is no answering. Sometimes conversations just ramble for a time, reflective of a mood, for example. Sometimes catching up on family matters or old times brings a host of disjointed topics. Sometimes work imposes a common order into which other matters flit.

There is simply no model for this. If you try to think of a conversation as a time series with possible numerical values you quickly come a cropper. It’s not that there are too many things that can be said. There are ways to handle infinity with models: continuous functions, for openers.

It’s just that here the possibilities are indefinite. (See post of October 13, 2006)

Misunderstandings alone can kill you. Double meanings. Nonsensical fun. Boredom. Absentmindedness. Belches. Etc. A conversation can shut down anytime.

Math has to be able to model what is going to happen. It has to have a kind of ‘before the fact’ force, based on some research, or it is pointless.

It cannot have this force here because what this has to do with that in a conversation is determined after the fact, if it is determined at all. What shuts a conversation down(or picks it up, for that matter) can be anything.

Think of the sales pitch that suffers immediate death when you unknowingly speak unfavorably about your hoped-for customer’s father.

Think of the resurrected sale pitch that had almost gone sour, reinvigorated by the mention of a woman’s mother in her teens, as the head cheerleader, during the first time the team had reached the playoffs in 20 years.

“I remember your mother.”
“You do?”
“She was one awesome Tex-Annie.”
“Yes, she was.”
“Finest of the fine. Let me show you…”

This is why artificial intelligence will always be artificial.

The Counterexample (2)


All it takes is dialogue to expose the flaw of deconstruction. How do you make one voice out of the many?

But all it takes is dialogue to do the same with philosophy. Philosophy is at best an interruption of dialogue. It has to enter as an offering of a first principle.

But it cannot do that without taking what has been said and restructuring it. In this restructuring, it converts what has been said into the terms of its first principle. It must change the dialogue into something else.

The conversation that it enters changes, for it now is about what comes first. People have to quit talking and pay attention to an order that is being introduced. Eyes glaze over. People look at their watches and wonder when it is going to end. A lot of people don’t know quite what has happened, except they know it is somehow not quite right.

Because conversations don’t go this way, unless they’ve been hijacked.

When people are just talking, there are no rules for the direction of the conversation. There is no prior order. Conversations shift from here to there. Look below, for example.

The delivery(65)

“Jesus, I’m beat. What the hell time is it?”
“6:02.”
“The sun’s going to shine in my back door some day.”
“I remember seeing Lightnin’ fall off the chair at Liberty Hall, singing that one.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he just leaned back on his chair and was gone.”
“You got to be kiddin’. What?”
“Pretty much just kept playin’. The band dusted him off and sat him back up. He was a corker.”
“Well, we got to keep playin’ this one.”

Consider “Jesus, I’m beat. What the hell time is it?” It does not follow from parking, which happened previously. It’s just said. There is no setup in the prior conversation for it, the last of which is:

“Here we are. Let’s park and find Stet.” The possibilities are indefinite. The speaker could just as easily have noted hunger. Or a bird. Or nothing at all.

Then consider the answer to the question what the time is, to wit,

“6:02.”

It does not lead in any definitive way to “The sun’s going to shine in my back door some day.” Nor does the song line lead in any definitive way to what comes later. We can answer possibly in life how one came to say what he said and how the other came to say what he said, based on the testimony of each. But the ‘how one came to?’ here comes after the fact. Because you have to ask and find out ‘how one came to?’ after what was said.

The rest of the dialogue works the same way. They get to talking about Lightnin’ as a kind of diversion, walking to the emergency room as the sun begins to rise. And then they get back to business, which they could have done earlier, then or later.

“Well, we got to keep playin’ this one.”

The Counterexample (1)

One thing about the dialogue, The delivery, is that it has no point of view. There is no narrative. So you cannot say that the writer puts the characters in a context beyond which their own words go. Their own words take them along; they do that work for the writer.

Certainly the writer wrote them. But that is all that he did. He wrote the dialogue.

So while you can argue as to what the writer may be doing with the characters, what you cannot say is that the characters have some meaning beyond their own words, a meaning which is the peculiar voice of the writer, for there is no writer-spun yarn into which they fit.

There are voices, if you will. But there is no single voice. There is not even a style.

There is no self-presence of the writer in the writing, as the deconstructionist understands it.

You are put into this situation: You cannot evaluate the work, other than as dialogue. Anything else you say is your own creation.

If the dialogue is literature, it is not literature that can be deconstructed, given the terms in Of Grammatology. In it there is not a unity of voice and meaning to deconstruct. There is no Derridean trace of anything.

If the dialogue is literature, deconstructionist English departments need to change their ways. Derrida goes a long way to deny a voice in literature that need not have even been there. If it need not have been there, there was no reason for deconstruction in the first place.

The delivery(77)

“Am I speaking to Lupe?”
“Yes.”
“I am Hope Evans Hodge.”
“Si, Senora Hodge.”
“Stet’s fine. He’s just perfect. He came out of surgery a few minutes ago and everything went just as it should.”
“Thank you so much for calling and letting me know.”
“Would you like to come down and be my guest while Stet gets well? We could visit him everyday until he is out and bring him back to my home, and you could stay until he is ready to leave.”
“Yes, if it is no trouble.”
“It is no trouble; it will honor me to see you both together.”
“I will ask my father to see if he can spare me. I have a younger sister who may be ready to take my place.”
“Wonderful; I’ll call you by day’s end to find out. And please call me ‘Aunt Hope.’ You are my family.”
“Gracias, Aunt Hope.”
“De nada. Oh. And do you like flowers?”
“O si.”
“A lot grow here. It’s wet. We get lots of rain. You can come see my garden.”
“Oh my. It’s so hard to grow flowers here.”
“We will talk more later.”
“Good bye, Aunt Hope, and thank you.”
“You’re entirely welcome, Lupe.”

The delivery(76)

“Aunt Hope. Will you call Lupe? She had the same dream. I got no idea what is going on here, but will you talk to her and put her at ease?”
“Leland. Calm yourself. I have a calling card. Let me use a regular phone. I’d be very happy to.”
“Very well. I’ll write the number down for you.”
“Your hand is shaking.”
“Yes, Aunt Hope; I’m not what I used to be.”
“You forget. Nor am I.”
“We got Clark, Aunt Hope.”
“Yes we did, and bless you and Stet for coming, Leland.”
“Bless you for dreaming. Whoa. I got to sit down. This knee is killing me. Aunt Hope, how’d you know Clark was headed for Mexico?”
“Just a notion, really.”
“How’d you know Clark wasn’t dead?”
“You can’t put things over on me, Leland; I raised one boy, remember?”

The delivery(75)

“Santos, you call?”
“No.”
“Who called?”
“Let me ask; Lupe called.”
“Put her on.”
“Nunk. Is Stet ok?”
“Yes, but he’s been stabbed, only just in the leg. I’m at the hospital. He’ll be fine. Why’d you call?”
“I had a dream. Stet was calling me.”
“What?”
“I had a dream. Stet was calling me.”
“Hold on a minute. I got to sit down.”
“You ok, Nunk?”
“Yeah, just confused and a bit dizzy.”
“I had a dream.”
“Yeah. Aunt Hope did, too. You may need to meet her.”
“Who?”
“Aunt Hope; she called within two minutes of your call.”
“Who?”
“Aunt Hope had the same dream. Lupe, look, Stet is ok, but he’s getting sewed up and can’t talk. I’ll have him call you.”
“Ok…”
“I’ll call you later. Everything is ok.”
“S’ok?”
“It’s ok, I promise. I’ll get Aunt Hope to call you.”
“Ok, Nunk.”
“We’ll call you in a little while.”

The delivery(74)

“We kind of forgot Stet in all of this.”
“They’re puttin’ a stent in now and will do some grafting. If he has blood to his extremities and isn’t infected, he’ll probably be ok.”
“How did you come to know all this, Dan?”
“You forget I was an OR tech before I hooked up with Ray.”
“I did forget. My mind is near blown, I’m so beat. Shit. I had my phone on silent. Missed some calls.”
“Do you know how to work that thing, Mr. Flop Screen?”
“Yes I do, Dan. I just hate the damn thing. My thumbs are no good. And I can’t make out these miniscule buttons. Damn menu is screwing with me again.”
“Let me see the thing, Straight.”
“Here.”
“Who’s this?”
“Hope.”
“Who’s this?”
“Shit, that’s Santos. What’s he calling for at 5:00 AM? And then again at 5:15? And at 5:30? There’s more.”
“Call him.”

The delivery(73)

“Mexico, they were on the Westpark toll, going to Mexico, just like the old lady said.”
“The old lady?”
“What’d she say?”
“No matter. It’s over, boys.”
“Yeah, except there is that little deal with Red’s money.”
“What money?”
“Well, officer…”

The delivery(72)

“We got ‘em.”
“Where?”
“On the Westpark toll.”
“Hold, boys, let me ask further. Where were they headed?”
“Little guy said Mexico; big guy is saying nothing.”
“Damn.”

The delivery(71)

“That’s a hell of a cane you got there.”
“It’s a hell of a bad knee I got there, too, sir.”
“Played ball?”
“Yessir.”
“So did I; paying for it today.”
“Amen.”
“You a Houston fan?”
“A bit of one. Sure miss those Oilers.”
“So do I.”
“Don’t know about these Texans.”
“No…Hold on, I got a call.”

http://www.houstontexans.com/team/Roster.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Titans

The delivery(70)

“So…you saw Clark?”
“Thought I did. Thursday evening at dinner.”
“Where?”
“Milano’s”
“You see Kenny?”
“Yessir, I think it was him.”
“How did you know it was him?”
“Dan found a picture of him. We were just trying to put this together; we did not want to send you off on a snipe hunt.”
“How’d this old lady figure all this out?”
“I’m sucker punched. Got no idea. Said she had some kind of dream.”
“O boy, one of those, huh?”
“As I said, got no clue.”
“Well we got enough now to put out an APB. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you, Officer.”

The delivery(69)

“Who saw the Volvo?”
“Straight did.”
“Straight?”
“Yes, officer.”
“You’re Straight?”
“Yessir, that’s where I got my name.”
“Ahh. Is the boy a Straight?”
“Yessir. But no sir. He’s my nephew, Stet Howard.”
“Stet?”
“For ‘Stetson’.”
“Stetson. Where’re you from?”
“Panhandle.”
“How...how do you know these guys?”
“Knew Ray in college before he came out.”
“Oh, Ok.”
“And we stayed friends.”
“You did?”
“Yessir; he’s my best friend.”
“Ok...”

The delivery(68)

“High guys.”
“Hello, Officer Elrod.”
“Old lady done spilled your beans, boys.”
“Kinda sorta looks that way.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Did not think you’d believe it.”
“I believe it; God, this is going to be bad for downtown.”
“Sounds like it, I’m sorry.”
“Meet Officer Winston. He’s in homicide. Relax, Y’all are not in any trouble.”
“Dan, tell him about the vehicle and Kenny Blue. They got to be looking for him to find Clark.”
“Right…”

The delivery(67)

“Aunt Hope. I realize this is just down the street from you, but it’s a little early for a morning walk.”
“Maybelline brought me. I had this dream, Leland. Stet was calling me.”
“Hope, you’re all tangled up, here.”
“Help me with this shawl. Thank you. I know it, Leland, but I called my neighbor who likes to listen to the police radio. He said there had been a stabbing on Courtlandt. So I thought it might be one of you, with all this going on and Clark not being dead. Your phone was not answering. So I came here just to see. Stet’s already in surgery.”
“Uh…”
“I’ve already talked to that nice officer Elrod. He is such a fine young man. He has three beautiful children and a lovely wife who tends roses.”
“Uh…”
“Good to see you, Ray, Dan.”
“Yes’m.”
“Same here.”

The delivery(66)

“Oh no, oh no. Oh. No.”
“What now?”
“Aunt Hope is here.”
“How did Hope get here?”
“How did she know to get here?”
“No fucking way.”

The delivery(65)

“Jesus, I’m beat. What the hell time is it?”
“6:02.”
“The sun’s going to shine in my back door some day.”
“I remember seeing Lightnin’ fall off the chair at Liberty Hall, singing that one.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he just leaned back on his chair and was gone.”
“You got to be kiddin’. What?”
“Pretty much just kept playin’. The band dusted him off and sat him back up. He was a corker.”
“Well, we got to keep playin’ this one.”

http://www.campstreetcafe.com/HoustonChronicle.htm


http://38.100.66.22/Events%20&%20Exhibits/index.htm

The delivery(64)

“Kenny may not even know; he just peddles his butt. He may not have read the papers, and he has just come back from Austin, I hear.”
“Well, Dan, Clark’s pedaling his butt right now, back to that Volvo, I’ll bet.”
“They may leave right now.”
“Clark knows he’s slowed us down with Stet’s leg. Think he’d try to get the money?”
“Don’t know. He’s got to wait for it to get there. Kinda doubt it now.”
“We’ll have the bank all over it, Monday morning.”
“Here we are. Let’s park and find Stet.”

The delivery(63)

“Why is he with Kenny Blue?”
“Kenny’s from up around Concan.”
“You mean north of Uvalde?”
“Yeah, up in those hills north of there.”
“They could hide up there for quite a spell. Would not need his realtor buddy.”
“How’d you find all that out, Dan?”
“Just doing my duty, Sheriff.”

The delivery(62)

“What’d that old Volvo look like?”
“Grey, two door, about a ’68.”
“Hmm.”
“They were little tanks back then, weren’t they?”
“We need to find out who’s got one.”
“You remember little Kenny Blue, the dancer?”
“Yeah, you already done some checking, Dan?”
“Yeah, was in the DPS database, but his last address makes no sense. That place has been razed in the last year.”
“D’you describe him to Straight?”
“Yeah, he did better. Showed me a picture. It was him, I think.”
“They’ll take the Volvo and dress way down, I bet.”

The delivery(61)

“Shit, Ray, what do we tell Elrod? Where do I turn? The street’s all fucked up.”
“Go that way, Straight. That’ll lead you right to Main.”
“Ray?”
“I’m thinking. Nothing really. We suspect Clark, but Clark is certifiably dead. Elrod’s going to think we’re nuts.”
“I’m virtually certain it was Clark at the restaurant.”
“Yeah, but you had not seen him in a while. Let’s don’t jump the gun with Elrod yet.”
“Hmm.”
“One thing is certain. Clark’s on the run. Maybe to Mexico.”
“Hmm.”
“And without the money, for sure.”
“Now he knows we all know.”
“He had funny ears, but he could hear a pin drop through a wall.”
“Too many of us to kill now, Dan.”
“Yeah. Damn. I was hoping he’d try me.”

The delivery(60)

“We’ll be right behind you, Stet. We know Officer Elrod. We’ll find you all at the hospital.”
“Mr. Elrod…”
“Yes?”
“Let me take a little nap.”

The delivery(59)

“Ray’s talking to that cop. Here he comes.”
“Stet, wake up, if you can, this is Officer Elrod. Tell him what happened, if you can.”
“Ah…, can’t say much, sir. Didn’ get a look. S’dark, happened fast. S’reachin’ for the bike; cut me; s’white, looked fairly tall.”
“Here are the EMT’s.”
“I’ll ride with you. Maybe you can remember something on the way.”
“Yessir.”
“Nobody else got a look at him, Ray?”
“I saw him up on my porch by the window, as I drove up. But I could not make anything out.”
“How about you, sir.”
“Straight, that’s you.”
"Oh. I saw him go over the rail, but I did not see his face and he was dressed in black, or something dark.”
“That’s it?”
“It’s all I know. Can I go with you and Stet?”
”No. You’ll have to follow. Ray knows the way.”
“How about you, Dan. What’d you see?”
“Not a damn thing. I was running down the stairs as Stet went over the rail.”
“Any idea who it might have been?”
“He headed west on Courtlandt. He’ll have to ditch that bike and tights.”

The delivery(58)

“Ray. Turn around and get me my gear out of the truck. And call 911.”
“Yo.”
“Straight.”
“Yeah.”
“He’s been cut pretty deep, but he’s holding his own. When we get that artery clamped, he’ll be ok ‘til they get here.
“Hold that Surefire light, will you, Straight?”
“Thanks, Ray. That ought to do it.”
“What is that damn thing?
“A Crile clamp, always carry one.”
“Looks like a little alligator.”
“It will be Ben Taub City soon.”
“Goddamn, how’d he get you, Stet?”
“I don’t know, Nunk. He started to slow and then it happened. Then he took off.”
“Put your head back on this, so you don’t pass out. The cops will ask you what happened when they get here.”
“Ok, Nunk. Oh.”
“Don’t leave me now, son. Don’t leave me now.”

http://www.hchdonline.com/about/facilities/bentaubgh.htm

The delivery(57)

“Dan. He’s off and riding.”
“Where’d he get you, Stet?”
“In the thigh, it feels weird.”
“Lay steady, I got my finger on it; it’s kinda deep.”
“Ohh.”
“Here we go again, Stet. Once again, us boys are getting pretty rough on your ass.”
“Dan, if I were your size, I’d whip you.”
“Yeah, yeah, sit still. You’re not, thank God.”

The delivery(56)

“Stet’s down. Oh my God, oh my Jesus, my man’s down, my boy’s down.”
“Dan’s out there already, running like a motherfucker. Let’s MOVE.”

The delivery(55)

“Who’re you serving drinks to on the porch?”
“What?”
“Who is out there on the porch? Caught sight of him as I turned in.”
“He’s over the rail; go for him, Stet, but watch him for a knife. Stet’s taking off down the street after him, he's gaining on him; the guy wobbled on his bike. O Jeez."