Beyond dogwhistles

Abstract

Abstract This chapter is dedicated to considering some additional phenomena and questions that arise with respect to our analysis of dogwhistles. First, we consider situations in which speakers choose not to dogwhistle, but rather to say objectionable things flat out. We show that these can be given an explanation within our model as certain parameters move toward extreme settings. We then discuss the relationship between personas, perspectives, and standpoints in the sense of standpoint epistemology, which shows some advantages of treating things in this way but also some potential pitfalls. Finally, we consider the scope of our model beyond dogwhistles to other kinds of coded speech and covert communication. We argue that all speech, at some level, is coded speech, and so our theory has applications far beyond dogwhistles; this claim concludes the book.