Maxims on Education

Maxims on Education

Quality: "Be Informative"

This maxim means that the speaker/writer has to include all the information that the addressee requires to understand. If the speaker leaves out a crucial piece of information, the addressee will not understand what the speaker is trying to say. But it is not necessary for the speaker/writer to provide the information that is not necessary or required.

Quantity: "Be Brief"

The meaning of this maxim is that the speaker/writer should avoid including unnecessary, redundant information in his contribution. If the speaker rambles on without saying anything new or informative, the addressee will lose interest in the discourse very quickly and stop paying attention.

The two maxims "Be Informative" and "Be Brief" are in a natural state of tension with each other. Maximum informativeness automatically includes a certain amount of repetition and redundance. Maximum brevity entails leaving out information that some addressees may find important while others would consider it superfluous.

Erring on the side of informativeness means that every addressee will be able to understand the message, but many of the more intelligent or more knowledgeable ones will get bored with it, because the discourse does not move fast enough. Boredom almost always leads to inattentiveness.

Erring on the side of brevity, on the other hand, comes with the price that some addressees will not understand the content of the communication. Not understanding the discourse makes the addressee feel left out. It leads to frustration, and frustration often leads to inattentiveness as well. Every discourse is a balancing act between the two extremes. The speaker has to ask himself: "How much information do I have to include so that my addressee understands what I am trying to say? How little information can I get away with, without losing my addressee?"

The tension between the two opposite demands can be subsumed under linguistic economy.

It exists on many different levels, syntactic, phonetic, pragmatic, and semantic. It is one of the driving forces behind linguistic change. Consciously or unconsciously, it is also a driving force behind our personal evolution as riders. We all strive to become more effective with our seat and aids - and effectiveness is nothing other than finding the perfect balance between informativeness and brevity, as well as lightness, in our aids. The rider always has to ask himself questions like: "How little leg can I get away with, before the horse loses impulsion? How light can my rein contact be, before the cycle of energy is interrupted and the horse falls apart? How small can my aid be for the next movement or transition?"

"Be Relevant"

Relevance is an extremely important principle in linguistics, and entire books have been written just on the role of relevance in language. In the context of H.P.Grice's Co-operative principle, the demand for relevance simply means that the speaker/writer should only include information in his communication that is relevant to the discourse topic. On our Classical dressage discussion list we had numerous examples in the past where people posted things that were not relevant in the narrower sense of the word to the training of a dressage horse in the classical tradition. It is interesting to observe that the perceptions of what is relevant and what is irrelevant diverges among people. This shows that relevance is a matter of degree, not something absolute. In linguistics that is quite typical. Hardly anything is set in stone, almost everything is a matter of degree or statistical frequency. The same thing applies to riding as well. Based on the circumstances of the individual situation, the specific application of the general principles can vary significantly.

"Be Truthful"

The applicability of truthfulness to riding may not be immediately obvious. In linguistic terms the maxim of truthfulness refers to the importance of only making statements we believe to be true. The reason is that if we get caught making false statements we lose our credibility, which is one of the most important social assets a person can have. Obviously, in real life this maxim is often violated in order to deceive the addressee. In less serious contexts, it can be violated in an obvious manner when the speaker tells a joke or teases the addressee.

Manner: "Be Polite"

   Truthfulness and politeness are of philosophical and moral rather than grammatical significance in linguistics. The demand for politeness simply means that we should treat other people as we would like to be treated - verbally and otherwise. In an equestrian context, we could substitute "Be Polite" with "Be Kind". As riders we should always strive to achieve our goals with as much kindness and consideration for the horse as possible - without pampering the horse on the other hand. In situations that warrant a reprimand, we should always maintain the attitude towards the horse that: "I'm your friend, but you can't be rude to me." Everything we do should be guided by genuine affection for the individual horse we are riding, not just by the idea of loving the species equus. Continuing this train of thought, kindness also implies that we will not exploit a horse to gain personal fame or fortune, that we will not ask anything of the horse that he is unable to fulfill without incurring physical or psychological damage. In other words, the well-being of the horse has to outweigh any other consideration.