Books by J. L. (late White's Professor of Moral Philosophy Austin

The influence of J.L.Austin on contemporary philosophy was substantial during his lifetime, and has grown greatly since his death, at the height of his powers, in 1960. This book, first published in 1961, was the first of three volumes to increase the influence and popularity of his work.

This volume contains the late J.L. Austin's examination of his distinction of performative utterances from statements, and his subsequent theory of "illocutionary forces" of utterances. It is a revised version of his famous William James Lectures, delivered at Harvard University.