constatives

Constatives are a class of utterances whose primary aim is to describe the world and express propositions that can be true or false. Examples include simple factual statements like "The Earth orbits the Sun" or "There is a cat on the mat." Such utterances are said to have truth conditions: their success is determined by whether the described state of affairs obtains. In classical discussions, constatives contrast with performatives, which are utterances that perform an action simply by being spoken (for example, "I apologize," "I resign"), and are not evaluated primarily for truth.

Originating in J. L. Austin's work on speech-acts, the constative–performative distinction was used to distinguish two major kinds of language use. Austin and later philosophers such as John Searle treated constatives as statements that aim to describe, report, or claim, whereas performatives enact something through saying them. The terminology has often been supplemented by reference to illocutionary acts (the speech act performed by the utterance) and perlocutionary effects (the achieving of consequences).

In contemporary philosophy of language, the usefulness of the constative category is debated. Many analyses focus on the force of utterances—illocutionary strength, context, and speaker intention—rather than grouping statements into a fixed constative/performative dichotomy. Normative or evaluative claims, for instance, raise questions about truth-aptness and verification. Nonetheless, the constative notion remains a helpful shorthand for describing language whose primary function is to report or describe in a truth-conditional way. See also speech act theory, illocutionary act, and performative utterance.