A anatomia da mentira: uma análise semântico-pragmática

Abstract

Lying is a complex phenomenon, present in various situations of human interaction and traditionally associated with the utterance of a false statement with the intention of deceiving the interlocutor. However, the diversity of communicative situations in which lying may occur highlights the difficulties in defining it on the basis of strict and necessary criteria. In this context, this dissertation aims to investigate the notion of lying in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) from a perspective grounded in the philosophy of language and Prototype Theory, seeking to understand its gradual organisation and to identify the relevance of the elements that contribute to its categorisation. The research takes as its starting point the model proposed by Coleman and Kay (1981), according to which the prototypical lie involves three features: (A) factual falsity of the proposition, (B) intention to speak falsely, and (C) intention to deceive. Methodologically, the study revisits and expands on previous experiments conducted with speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (Colosso, 2024), through the use of different questionnaires comprising stories representing the possible combinations of the three features. Participants rated each situation on judgement scales, enabling the observation of different degrees of lie attribution and a comparison of the organisation of the features across different experimental conditions. The results show that the simultaneous presence of all three traits constitutes the prototypical core of the category, associated with the highest ratings and the greatest consensus amongst participants. The intermediate conditions, in turn, show that the traits carry different weights in the categorisation: the intention to speak falsely (B) proved to be the most relevant element, followed by the intention to deceive (C), whilst the factual falsity of the proposition (A) had the least influence on the judgements. A comparison with previous findings also reveals a reorganisation in the hierarchy of features, indicating that the categorisation of lies in Brazilian Portuguese does not depend exclusively on the correspondence between the proposition and reality, but primarily involves aspects related to the speaker’s intentions and mental states. It is concluded that, in Brazilian Portuguese, lying does not constitute a category rigidly defined by necessary and sufficient conditions, but rather a gradual category, organised around a prototype and peripheral cases. The results thus reinforce the relevance of the prototypical approach to the study of lying and contribute to an understanding of the interface between Semantics, Pragmatics and Cognition.