J. L. Austin Quotes
Let us distinguish between acting intentionally and acting deliberately or on purpose, as far as this can be done by attending to what language can teach us.
Austin, J. L. "Three Ways of Spilling Ink." Philosophical Papers, edited by J. O. Urmson and G. J. Warnock, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 273.
During the War on Terror, American CIA and military entered Pakistani territory hunting for terrorist leaders. The border area in question is really controlled by Tribal lords with their own armed forces, and the Pakistani government loathed to send troops into the area to apprehend terrorists. Occasionally American forces went in from the Afghanistan side and captured some. Their “cover” was that they had made a mistake as to where the border was. The Pakistanis were very sensitive about their sovereignty and complained profusely.
John Langshaw Austin was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the theory of speech acts.
