Towards a Formal Discourse Pragmatics

Could we enrich speech-act theory to deal with discourse? Wittgenstein and Searle are sceptical. In my view, the primary aim of discourse pragmatics is to analyze the structure and dynamics of language-games with an internal conversational goal. Logic can analyze felicity-conditions of such collective illocutions. For interlocutors obey systems of constitutive rules in conducting descriptive, deliberative, declaratory or expressive dialogues. I will show how to construct speaker-meaning from sentence-meaning, conversational background and maxims. I will also explain how to use the resources of formalisms and mathematical logic and to further develop intensional and illocutionary logics, the logic of attitudes and of action in order to characterize our ability to converse. I will also deal with the nature of intelligent dialogues between man and machines in A.I.