A New Type of Convention? Some Remarks on Bruno Celano's 'Pre-Conventions'

Abstract

This piece is part of a symposium on a paper by Bruno Celano entitled “Pre-conventions: A fragment of the Background”. In that paper, Celano argues for the existence and philosophical significance of what he calls “pre-conventions” – a type of convention distinct from those hitherto discussed in the literature, and which transcends a number of orthodox philosophical distinctions. In my comments, I suggest that Celano may have shown that there is a distinct type of convention governing judgments of style or taste. If so, we may learn some important lessons (e.g. concerning the relationship between conventions and rules) by examining this new type of convention. However, I express doubts about whether the broader ambitions of Celano’s paper are fulfilled. I contend that pre-conventions are not as common as he suggests, and are not present in some of the other examples he gives. I also express doubts about whether he is right to suggest that there is a distinct type of convention that renders possible the development of conventions of the sort David Lewis was interested in.

Keywords: Bruno Celano, conventions, pre-conventions, David Lewis

JEL Classification: K00, K49