Drugspeak - The Analysis of Drug Discourse (Hardcover)

John Booth Davies

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This work describes the way in which conversations between drug users vary and change according to context and circumstances in ways that suggest that there is no single "truth" about the state we call "addicted". The central thesis of the book is that the explanations that drug users give for their drug use make sense not so much as a source of facts, but as primarily functional statements shaped by a climate of moral and legal censure. Consequently, the signficance of drug conversations lies not in their literal semantics but in the purposes such conversation serve. The argument raises a number of fundamental issues about the performative rather than the informative nature of language, about the nature of the "scientific facts" concerning drug use, and about the very nature of science itself. Starting with a general overview of the problems arising from a mechanistic and deterministic view, the book identifies a need for a new approach to the understanding of verbal behaviour. Secondly, it gives an account of a new form of analysis, based on over 500 conversations carried out with drug users in Scotland and the north of England. In a final data section, evidence is presented link

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	1998
First published:	1997
Authors:	John Booth Davies
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 19mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	208
ISBN-13:	978-90-5702-191-6
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Semantics (meaning) > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Illness & addiction: social aspects > Drug addiction & substance abuse Promotions
LSN:	90-5702-191-9
Barcode:	9789057021916