Fisher, Sarah
2026.
Discursive deadlock and the social (media) life of frames.
THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science
41
(2)
, pp. 245-261.
10.1387/theoria.26260
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Abstract
Disputes over complex social and political issues frequently reveal themselves in the use of contrasting frames. A policy on restricting gun ownership may be characterised by one side as “improving public safety” and by the other side as “curtailing individual rights”; one group may frame the construction of new homes on the greenbelt as “increasing the housing supply” while their opponents characterise it as “damaging the environment”; and so on. In recent work, J. L. Bermúdez argues that these kinds of alternative frames put agents in touch with distinct – and potentially conflicting – reasons for judgement and action. He diagnoses many cases of discursive deadlock as clashes of frames and he prescribes to agents a course of epistemic due diligence, whereby they adopt multiple alternative frames. In this paper, I argue that the analysis, while valuable, is importantly incomplete. Frames not only elucidate reasons but signal identities and affiliations—and that calls instead for structural changes to discursive environments.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Published Online |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > English, Communication and Philosophy |
| ISSN: | 2171-679X |
| Related URLs: | |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 4 December 2025 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 28 November 2025 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Sep 2026 14:12 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182743 |
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