Positioning theory, Speech acts and Normative orders–the background of Ordinary Language Philosophy and influence of Austin, Ryle, and Strawson

A central part of Positioning Theory (PT) is related to the use of language in everyday contexts, as suggested by the central notion of ‘speech acts.’ The focus on the use of language has a history leading back to the first part of the 20th century and what was taught in the philosophy departments at Oxford and Cambridge as ordinary language philosophy (OLP). This approach to language influenced Harré during his philosophical education in Oxford at the beginning of the 1950s, and it also shaped his later thinking about psychology. This chapter traces the influence of OLP on PT at both a general and a more particular level. On the general level, the chapter describes a development of OLP going against the prevailing or official story of its demise in the 1960s. PT is one of several testimonies to the fact that OLP lives on within humanistic disciplines other than philosophy. On a more particular level, some of the figures influencing the development of PT will be described: namely, J.L. Austin (1962) for the development of speech (and other acts), Gilbert Ryle (1949) for the development of a discursive mind, and Peter Strawson (1959) for the notion of a person.