Portuguese House. Talking about Pragmatics with Francesca Poggi

Abstract

This contribution highlights the virtues of the relevant book by Francesca Poggi (2020). In the second section, some general considerations about human communication through language are presented. In the third section, the central thesis of the book is introduced, according to which the conversational model and the Gricean cooperative principle are not applicable to the theory of legal interpretation, as well as some objections to this thesis. In the fourth section, an attempt is made to answer the question on what basis Francesca’s thesis is based, suggesting that it is her interpretative skepticism. Section five attempts to show the relevance of the last chapter of the thesis, in which the principle of cooperation finds a place in law through the analysis of private law standards, such as good faith. The sixth section concludes by defending a more charitable position than the author’s on the application of the cooperative principle to legal interpretation.