Pragmatism as ventriloquism: A reply to comments

Abstract

In this article, I reply to each of the discussion notes written in response to one of my essays, titled “Pragmatism as ventriloquism: Creating a dialogue among seven traditions in the study of communication,” which was published in the second volume of Language Under Discussion. In this reply to Ronald Arnett’s, John Barnden’s, Mariaelena Bartesaghi’s, Barbara Fultner’s, Chris Russil’s, and Elizabeth Wilhoit’s notes, I point out that ventriloquism is not only about intersubjectivity, but also about interobjectivity, that is a matter of making the world say things about itself. I also point out that the ventriloquial thesis is a relational thesis that defends the possibility to move toward a form of objectivity and truth.