THE TRAP OF CONSTATIVE UTTERANCE

While performatives can be classified as actions, constatives are just statements or sayings that are as they are in nature.

Constatives are said to have the following functions:

1. It conveys a message;
2. That message can be compared to the “real world” and declared true or false;

3. A failed constative is false, unclear, or void of reference (that is, the thing it’s talking about doesn’t exist).2

Constatives are primarily dependent on facts and can only be judged when they have these facts to be measured against. The problem with constatives and performatives is that should you just take a look at how they were phrased, or should you judge based on the construction of the sentence, you can hardly tell them apart. However, performatives do not describe nor report anything. So, someone can say that a painting is red and green that is considered a constative. But if someone says, “paint that wall red and green,” then that is considered a performative.

Constatives can either be true or false.

Constatives can either be true or false. For example, someone can state that that room is full, when in actuality it is not. It’s still qualified as a constative, but that doesn’t make it a true constative. It shall be considered, as aforementioned, a failed constative.

It’s good to look at the famous/infamous story of Peter’s denial of Jesus and the rooster crowing:

54 Then the men arrested Jesus and led him away. They took him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed from far away. 55 Some people there started a fire in the middle of the courtyard. Then they sat down together. Peter sat down with them. 56 A female servant saw him sitting there in the firelight. She looked closely at him. Then she said, “This man was with Jesus.”

57 But Peter said he had not been with him. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

58 A little later someone else saw Peter. “You also are one of them,” he said.

“No,” Peter replied. “I’m not!”

59 About an hour later, another person spoke up. “This fellow must have been with Jesus,” he said. “He is from Galilee.”

60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked right at Peter. Then Peter remembered what the Lord had spoken to him. “The rooster will crow today,” Jesus had said. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”

62 Peter went outside. He broke down and cried. (Luke 22:54-62)

We have several constatives to look at here.

We have several constatives to look at here. First is the female servant who observed Peter and was the first to state that Peter was a disciple of Jesus. Such is what could be considered a true constative. Peter, on the other hand, replying that he does not know Jesus is stating what qualifies as a false or failed constative.

It’s a statement, certainly, but it goes against the facts. The other person who stated that Peter was from Galilee is also stating a true constative, as Peter is from Bethsaida. Thus, Peter’s denial and statement saying that he does not know what the man is talking about is a false constative.

And then we have Jesus, who predicted what would happen. “The rooster will crow today,” Jesus had said. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me” – that statement does not qualify as a performative because Jesus did not make it happen. It just happened as he knew it would. So, we can count this statement as a true constative.

First is the female servant who observed Peter and was the first to state that Peter was a disciple of Jesus. Such is what could be considered a true constative. Peter, on the other hand, replying that he does not know Jesus is stating what qualifies as a false or failed constative.

It’s a statement, certainly, but it goes against the facts. The other person who stated that Peter was from Galilee is also stating a true constative, as Peter is from Bethsaida. Thus, Peter’s denial and statement saying that he does not know what the man is talking about is a false constative.

And then we have Jesus, who predicted what would happen. “The rooster will crow today,” Jesus had said. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me” – that statement does not qualify as a performative because Jesus did not make it happen. It just happened as he knew it would. So, we can count this statement as a true constative.

The problem with constatives is that it can be either right or wrong.

The problem with constatives is that it can be either right or wrong. That’s why it’s a trap. And it is up to us to decipher which is which. It may have something to do about who is making the statement that makes it true, as we can see in the case of Jesus here. Then again, the mockers of Jesus ended up being the ones who stated the truth and the disciple of Jesus is also the one who lied in this scenario, so maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye.

It boils down to us then, knowing what is factual and what is false. Even if a supposedly trusted person says something, even if that person is a spiritual leader, if the word does not come from God Himself or the Bible, then we have to double check and make sure that the constative utterances that come from the mouth of people we uphold are true.

But we have another instance where Peter knew what the truth was and he wasn’t afraid, nor hesitant to utter it, and we can see this during the early parts of Jesus’ ministry:

18 One day Jesus was praying alone. Only his disciples were with him. He asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” (Luke 9:18-20)

Check out: THE ORIGIN OF PERFORMATIVES

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