Definition
A preparatory condition is a state of affairs that
- must be presupposed by the speaker in employing a particular illocutionary force, and
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is a necessary condition for the nondefective employment of that force
- including any conditions necessary due to the mode of achievement, but
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excluding any limitations regarding the
- nature of the propositional content of the illocutionary act (because these relate to its content, not its force), and
- presuppositions of the speaker's sincerity in performing it.
Examples
- The force of making a promise, in which the speaker presupposes his or her own capability of performing the promised action
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The distinction between promising and threatening
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The act of promising presupposes the addressee’s concern that the promised action be taken, whereas the act of threatening presupposes some harm in the action.
Sources 1
- Searle and Vanderveken 1985, 16–18