On silencing : what it is and why it matters / Mary Kate McGowan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGowan, Mary Kathryn, 1968- author.

Contributor:

Oxford University Press, publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Silence (Philosophy).

Communication--Philosophy.

Communication.

Freedom of speech--Philosophy.

Freedom of speech.

Communication--Social aspects.

Language and languages--Philosophy.

Language and languages.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, [2026]

Summary:

The phenomenon of silencing has taken on new salience in the wake of #metoo and current controversies around free speech. Mary Kate McGowan's On Silencing explains what silencing is, and why it is important. She examines the full range of silencing as it manifests in our social world, and how it is best understood as a failure of communication that happens when we are trying to communicate across difference. Written for a broad readership, On Silencing builds on and synthesizes existing literature on silencing, while providing concrete suggestions for how we might best combat its most harmful forms.

The phenomenon of silencing has taken on new salience in the wake of #metoo and controversies around free speech. Using tools from the social philosophy of language, Mary Kate McGowan's On Silencing explains, in an accessible way, what silencing is and why it is important. Understanding silencing as a failure of communication, McGowan shows how communication can fail in one of three ways: one can be prevented from speaking, a speaker can be misunderstood, and a speaker can be understood but not affect the world as one should (such as when orders are not followed, refusals are not respected, and assertions are not believed). McGowan also explains how silencing is more likely to happen when we are trying to communicate across difference, and she provides concrete suggestions for what we can do - both as speakers and as hearers - to avoid contributing to harmful forms of silencing.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgments

1 An Overview

1.1 What Is Silencing?

1.2 Why Care?

1.3 The Audiences

1.4 The Contents

2 Understanding Language Use

2.1 Cases of Non-linguistic Communication

2.2 Communication Is Intentional

2.3 Communication Is Inferential

2.4 Communication Is Cooperative

2.5 Communication Is Context-Sensitive

2.6 Speech Acts: It's Not Just Content

2.7 Taking a Deeper Dive on the Nature of Illocution

3 What Is Silencing Anyway?

3.1 On Definitions

3.2 On Silencing

3.2.1 A Necessary Condition: Communicative Failure

3.2.2 Other Potential Necessary Conditions

3.3 The Three Broad Categories of Silencing

3.4 Revisiting Sincerity and Communication

3.5 Conclusion

4 You Got That Wrong: On Varieties of Miscommunication

4.1 Example 1: Messing Up Meaning

4.1.1 The Case of Prickly Politics: Yard Sign

4.1.2 Analyzing What Goes Wrong: Speaker Meaning

4.1.3 Is This Silencing?

4.1.4 Why Should We Care?

4.1.5 Additional Lessons

4.2 Case 2: Messing Up the Speech Action

4.2.1 The Case: Graduate Seminar

4.2.2 Analyzing the Case

4.2.3 Is It Silencing?

4.2.4 Why Should We Care?

4.2.5 Additional Lessons

4.3 Messing Up Sincerity

4.3.1 The Case: Fake Girl

4.3.2 Analyzing the Case

4.3.3 Is It Silencing?

4.3.4 Why Should We Care?

4.3.5 Additional Lessons

4.4 Additional Recognition Failures

4.4.1 Speaker Authority

4.4.2 Reason for Speech Act

4.4.3 True Self

4.5 On Social Scripts and Seriousness

4.6 Conclusion

5 Ineffectual Words: On Impact Prevention

5.1 Case One of Not Being Believed

5.2 Case Two of Not Being Believed

5.3 On Credibility and Knowledge Transmission.

5.4 More On Impact

5.5 Is Impact Prevention a Kind of Silencing: Should We Care?

5.6 Impact Silencing and Rape

5.7 Conclusion

6 Not Saying That On Preventing Communication

6.1 Decisions Against Speaking: Self-Silencing

6.1.1 Mere Disagreement

6.1.2 Harm Avoidance

6.1.3 On the Anticipation of Harm

6.2 Dotson's Testimonial Smothering

6.3 On Politeness and Harm-Avoidance Self-Silencing

6.4 Conclusion

7 Some Complex Contributors

7.1 Dialects

7.2 Conceptual Impoverishment

7.3 Misinterpreting Emotions

7.3.1 Anger and Attribution

7.4 Conclusion

8 Communicative Humility

Notes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

References

Index.

1 An Overview

3.1 On Definitions.

3.2 On Silencing

4.2 Case 2: Messing Up the Speech Action.

4.2.1 The Case: Graduate Seminar

5 Ineffectual Words: On Impact Prevention.

5.1 Case One of Not Being Believed

5.3 On Credibility and Knowledge Transmission

5.4 More On Impact

6.4 Conclusion.

7 Some Complex Contributors

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed on August 14, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: McGowan, Mary Kate On Silencing

Print version: McGowan, Mary Kathryn, 1968- On silencing.

ISBN:

9780197837320

0197837328

9780197837313

019783731X

OCLC:

1570330300

Publisher Number:

CIPO000345064

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license