You’ve probably been in a situation where someone said, "I promise I'll be there," and then they just... weren't. It’s annoying. But if you look at it through the lens of 20th-century philosophy, that broken promise isn’t just a lie; it’s a "misfire."
JL Austin: How to Do Things with Words is the book that changed how we think about talking. Published posthumously in 1962, it’s actually a collection of lectures Austin gave at Harvard back in 1955. Most people think philosophy is about deep, abstract "Why are we here?" questions. Austin wasn't about that. He was obsessed with the way we actually use language in the real world.
He noticed something pretty obvious that everyone else had missed. For a long time, philosophers thought the only job of a sentence was to describe the world. You say "the cat is on the mat," and it’s either true or it’s false. Austin called this the "descriptive fallacy." He realized that a huge chunk of what we say isn't trying to describe anything at all.
Instead, we are doing things.
The "I Do" Moment: Performative Utterances
Think about a wedding. When the officiant asks if you take this person to be your spouse, you don't say "True" or "False." You say "I do."
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In that moment, you aren't describing a marriage. You are performing one.
Austin called these performative utterances. Basically, the act of saying the words is the act itself. Other examples he loved to use included:
- "I bet you sixpence it will rain tomorrow."
- "I name this ship the Queen Elizabeth."
- "I give and bequeath my watch to my brother."
If you say "I bet you," and the other person says "Done," the bet exists. You haven't described a bet; you've created one out of thin air using nothing but vibrations in the atmosphere and a bit of social context. Honestly, it's kind of like magic when you think about it.
When Things Go Wrong (Infelicities)
Now, you can't just go around "performing" things willy-nilly. If I walk up to a random cruise ship with a bottle of Sprite and shout "I name this ship the SS Bad Idea," nothing happens. The ship's name doesn't change.
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Austin called these failures infelicities. For a performative to work, certain "felicity conditions" have to be met.
- There has to be a standard procedure (like a wedding ceremony).
- The people and circumstances have to be right (you can't marry a penguin, and a plumber can't legally marry you unless they’ve got the right paperwork).
- Everyone has to be sincere (if you say "I promise" but have no intention of doing it, that's an "abuse" of the act).
Why JL Austin: How to Do Things with Words Still Matters
Later in his lectures, Austin realized his own theory was a bit messy. He started to see that almost every sentence has a "doing" component. Even a simple statement like "There is a bull in that field" is doing something—it’s warning you.
He broke down every speech act into three layers:
- Locutionary act: The literal act of saying the words (making the sounds).
- Illocutionary act: What you are doing in saying it (warning, promising, ordering).
- Perlocutionary act: The actual effect it has on the listener (scaring them, getting them to run away).
This is why JL Austin: How to Do Things with Words is still a big deal in 2026. It’s the foundation of "Speech Act Theory." Without it, we wouldn't have modern linguistics, and honestly, even AI would be a lot dumber. Designers use these concepts to help chatbots understand that "Can you open the door?" isn't a question about their physical ability—it's a request.
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Common Misconceptions
A lot of people think Austin was just a "word guy" who liked playing with definitions. But his work was actually a rebellion. He was fighting against the idea that language is just a mirror of reality. He wanted us to see language as a tool, like a hammer or a screwdriver.
Another big mistake is thinking that only certain "special" words like "promise" or "order" are performative. By the end of his book, Austin basically argues that the distinction between "stating facts" and "doing things" is a bit of a blur.
Every time you open your mouth, you're interacting with the world. You’re changing the social landscape.
How to Apply This Today
If you want to use Austin's insights to navigate your life better, start paying attention to the "force" behind what people say.
- Audit your promises: If you realize that saying "I'll try to be there" is technically an illocutionary act of hedging, you might be more honest with your time.
- Watch for "misfires": When a conversation feels awkward or "off," it’s often because a felicity condition was broken. Maybe the person didn't have the authority to tell you what to do, or the setting was wrong.
- Focus on the effect: Remember the perlocutionary act. It doesn't matter if your "locution" was perfectly polite if the "perlocution" was that you made someone feel small.
Your Next Steps
To really get a handle on this, try a "Speech Act Audit" for one afternoon. Every time you speak, ask yourself: "Am I just stating a fact, or am I trying to do something to the person I'm talking to?" You'll quickly see that we are almost always doing something—requesting, posturing, soothing, or demanding.
Pick up a copy of the 1975 second edition if you can. It includes better notes from his original lectures and clears up some of the more confusing bits that the 1962 version left hanging. Understanding how words function as actions makes you a much more effective communicator and a lot harder to manipulate.