Accusation Theory

Abstract

Accusations play a pivotal role in human communication. There seems be be some changes in the contemporary political situation. However, there is a lack of a philosophical conceptualisation that is necessary for appropriate descriptions of accusations and further philosophical scrutiny. Accustation Theory (AT) is proposed as such a theoretical framework. This paper aims (1) to present some general tools for the description of accusations as speech acts, (2) will try to understand fundamental features of accusations, (3) understand some elements of the practice of accusing, (4) will present a short overview of relevant literature and (5) outline some possible lines of further research.

An Opinion on Promises, Threats, and Accusations In the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War

“…Connections of PT with principles familiar to physics are discussed in [10]. A theory of accusations, complementary to Promise Theory is proposed in [12], and a case study on the application of accusation theory in the context of computer programming is given in [13].…”

Accusations in the context of computer programming

“…We will use the approach to accusations of [11]. The format is that, with accusation p, (accuser) A, accuses (accusee) B (with scope S) of β (body of the accusation).…”

“…Various discussions in such a context directly discuss whether or not the accusations are false. Accusation Theory in the sense of [11] starts from the assumption that it is necessary to first reflect on the status of an accusation. In that sense one first has to ask whether or not it is justified to make an accusation at all before one can investigate whether or not an accusation is valid or not.…”

Special Accusation Types

“…In Bergstra & Düwell [12] we have outlined what we call accusation theory. In Bergstra & Düwell [13] we discuss by way of a case study the use of accusation theory in the context of computer programming, the latter work also illustrates relations between promises and accustations.…”

“…Below we will discuss key properties of anonymous accusations (AA's) and non-evidential accusations (NEA's), thereby proposing reasonably practical rules of engagement for dealing with AA's and NEA's. We refer to [12] for a comprehensive account of accusations and for the ground work on accusation theory, though below we will recall some elements of [12]. The motivational starting point of accusation theory is expressed by the following claim: Claim 1.1.…”