Force Dynamics - Limitations and Criticism

Limitations and Criticism

From the perspective of lexical semantics, some people have argued that force dynamics fails to be explanatory. For example, Goddard (1998:262–266) raised the objection that "a visual representation cannot — in and of itself — convey a meaning. (…) From a semiotic point of view, a diagram never stands alone; it always depends on a system of verbal captions, whether these are explicit or implied." He goes on to attack the verbal definition of causation Talmy provides, claiming that it is circular and obscure. Furthermore, Goddard objects to the use of the "semantically obscure concept of force". However, Goddard's objections lose some of their strength in light of the fact that Force Dynamics does not present itself as a complete semantic description of the constructions involving Force Dynamic concepts.

Another objection regarding force dynamics is the question, raised by Goddard (1998:81), of how different representational devices are supposed to interact with one another. As the field of cognitive linguistics is still in a state of theoretical flux, no systematic account addresses this issue as of yet. However, it is an objection many cognitive linguists are aware of. Some cognitive linguists have replied to such objections by pointing out that the goal of Cognitive Linguistics is not to construct a formal system in which theorems are proved, but rather to better understand the cognitive basis of language (cf. Newman 1996:xii).

Jackendoff (1990, 1996:120–3), in the process of incorporating aspects of force dynamics into his theory of conceptual semantics, has proposed a reconfiguration of some of its basic notions. In Jackendoff’s view, this reconfiguration "conforms better to the syntax of force-dynamic verbs" (1996:121).