On Judith Butler’s Theory Of Speech-Acts

The theory of speech-acts was founded by J.L.Austin,whose logical starting point is that "the issuing of the utterance is the performing of an action",so the theory is studying the acting function of speech.Judith Butler’s interpretation of theory of speech-acts revolves around speech-acts,speech injury,and subject of speech-acts.At the same time,Butler applied theory of speech-acts from practice on the basis of realistic speech-acts problems.The systematic study of Butler’s theory of speech-acts is conducive to deepening the understanding of the Marxist view of language in practice;Second,it helps to fully exploit the positive effects of speech on practice,thus solving realistic speech-acts problems;third,it is helpful to standardize speech use,create a good speech atmosphere for the people,and highlight the value pursuit of "people-centered" in the new era.Based on this,this thesis mainly conducts specific research on Butler’s theory of speech-acts from the following four chapters:The first chapter summarizes the background of Butler’s theory of speech-acts.in the 1990 s,the phenomenon of speech injury was widely discussed among the American public and academia,especially the two cases concerning hate speech and the definition of homosexual self-statement in the U.S.military.Butler argues that the above phenomena reveal the importance of language use and that they reflect the nature of the one-sided understanding of the relationship between speech and act and the over-established effectiveness of the act of speech in real life.Of course,these understandings of Butler are influenced by other scholars,especially Austin’s delineation of speech-acts,Althusser’s articulation of the subject,and Foucault’s understanding of power,and in dialogue with the ideas of these individuals,Butler clarifies the centrality of the performativity of power.Her understanding of the performativity of power,in turn,is again presented in the context of a discourse on the construction of body,subject,and gender by utterance.The second chapter analyzes the main elements of Butler’s theory of speech-acts.For Butler,speech-acts are the basis for exploring theory of speech-acts,and speech and act are conditionally unified in the sense that speech has to constitute a efficacious speech-acts,and to achieve this,three specific conditions need to be met,namely,a complete speech situation,ritualistic language conventions,and an authoritative subject of speech-acts.The subject of speech-acts,as the mediator of theory of speech-acts,is the interpellated being whose criteria lie in the current socio-cultural norms.At the same time,the subject of speech-acts is both an important cause of speech injury and an critical motivation for getting out of this dilemma.Butler argues that speech injury is the threat posed to the social existence of the body by the violence inherent in speech,and that to achieve this effect requires an significant link,the naming process of speech,in which the root cause at work is the power relations behind the speech.The third chapter describes Butler’s practical application of theory of speech-acts.First,Butler explores the issue of homosexual self-statement in the U.S.military,arguing that the military is wrong to equate homosexual self-statement,i.e.,"I am a homosexual," with performing the act of homosexuality,because self-statement may remain merely speech rather than becoming the act itself with a range of consequences.Second,Butler analyzes the effectiveness of the speech-acts of hate speech,emphasizing that once hate speech is transformed into a efficacious speech-acts through the performativity of power,it can subordinate the subject.Finally,Butler critiques pornography’s misinterpretation of theory of speech-acts by pointing out that pornography functions through an overdetermination of speech effectiveness,in which the performative power of pornography is exaggerated.The fourth chapter makes a Marxist reflection on Butler’s theory of speech-acts.From a Marxist standpoint,there is an intrinsic reason for comparing and contrasting Butler’s theory of speech-acts with the Marxist view of language in practice,namely,both are closely focused on the relationship between speech(language)and act(practice).In contrast to the Marxist view of language in practice,Butler fails to grasp the essence of the unity of speech and act,in other words,the dialectical unity;she sees the negative effects of speech on act,but does not fully explore the positive effects of speech on act.However,Butler clarifies the importance of the performativity of power in speech-acts,which is her original contribution to theory of speech-acts.Moreover,Butler is concerned with the survival of linguistic,and she argues that the dilemma of linguistic survival lies in speech injury,and the opportunity to escape from it lies in repetition,namely,the negative,critical repetition of existing norms.