Preface to a theme issue The Origins of Meaning and the Nature of Speech Acts. Organon F, 28(2), 2021, 270-281.

Abstract

This editorial introduces a thematic issue devoted to Mitchell S. Green’s work on self-expression, signalling, and speech acts. It outlines Green’s signalling model of communication, his account of expressive speech acts, organic meaning, and the common-ground framework, and situates these ideas within debates on pragmatics, communication, and social interaction. The contributions by Stina Bäckström, Marina Bakalova, Maciej Witek, Mateusz Włodarczyk, Felix Bräuer, and Marcin Lewiński critically examine and extend Green’s proposals, addressing expression, music, discourse-constituted thought, communicative evolution, epistemic injustice, and practical argumentation. Together, the papers assess the explanatory power and limitations of non-Gricean, expression-centered approaches to meaning and communication.