John Bateman On Empirical Modes Of Discourse

John Bateman wrote to sysfling on 15 May 2018 at 16:34:

The additional power of empirical modes of discourse is that they co-articulate a (semiotically-grounded) 'real' predictively and offer further submodes of discourse that allow such discourses to develop, increasing their range of prediction. That's just called scientific method. It does not claim to be the only way of discoursing, but should be one that SFL can deal in and deal in rather centrally.

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, the difference between empiricism and rationalism is the relative status each gives to experience and reason, with empiricism identifying experience as the primary source of knowledge, and rationalism reason.  On the SFL model, knowledge is meaning, and ideational meaning comprises logical relations (reason) between experiential construals (experience).

[2] To be clear, in SFL theory, modes of discourse are contextual modes (textual metafunction), such as spoken or written, that are realised by registers of language.  Empiricism, on the other hand, as an epistemological category, is a contextual field (ideational metafunction) that is realised by registers of language, or, more properly: a "meta-field", since epistemology is concerned with fields of fields, such as those of science or philosophy.

[3] In terms of the textual metafunction, the lexical repetition of 'co-articulate' here links cohesively back — see previous post —to 'co-articulate' in

In Peircean terms, the representamen, the interpretant and the object *co-art[i]culate* one another …

In interpersonal terms, what this repetition links is the proposition made of the Peircean triad to propositions made of 'empirical modes of discourse' and 'scientific method'.  In other words, it uses lexical cohesion to imply a proposition about the Peircean triad with regard to 'empirical modes of discourse' and 'scientific method' without presenting it as an explicit arguable proposition.

[4] Here Bateman construes an identity that encodes the additional power of empirical modes of discourse by reference to a fact:

The additional power of empirical modes of discourse	is	that they co-articulate a (semiotically-grounded) 'real' predictively and offer further submodes of discourse that allow such discourses to develop, increasing their range of prediction
Identified Value	Process: identifying	Identifier Token
Subject	Finite	Complement
Mood		Residue

The fact itself is realised by a clause complex within which the following relations obtain:

that they co-articulate a (semiotically-grounded) 'real' predictively	and offer further submodes of discourse that allow such discourses to develop	increasing their range of prediction
1	+ 2
	α	= β

By embedding these propositions in his fact, Bateman presents them as unarguable. However, they become arguable if they are analysed as ranking clauses. The first of these can be analysed as follows:

empirical modes of discourse	co-articulate		a (semiotically-grounded) 'real'	predictively
Sayer	Process: verbal		Verbiage	Manner: quality
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement	Adjunct
Mood		Residue

The second proposition can be analysed as follows:

empirical modes of discourse	offer		further submodes of discourse that allow such discourses to develop
Identified Token	Process: identifying: possessive: benefaction		Identifier Value
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement
Mood		Residue

Experientially, this construes a benefactive identity that decodes empirical modes of discourse by reference to a Value in which is embedded a further proposition:

further submodes of discourse	allow		such discourses	to develop
Creator	Process:		Existent	existential
Initiator	Process:		Actor	material: creative
Subject	Finite	Pre…	Complement	…dicator
Mood		Residue

The final proposition can be analysed as follows:

offering further submodes of discourse that allow such discourses to develop	increases		their range of prediction
Attributor	Process: qualitative		Carrier
Initiator	Process: transformative		Actor
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement
Mood		Residue

Unsurprisingly, the combination of these abstract construals and unarguable propositions, all realising what is construed as a fact, silenced all Bateman's interlocutors on the matter.

[5] Here Bateman identifies his fact as scientific method:

That	's	just	called	scientific method
Identified Token	Process:		identifying	Identifier Value
Subject	Finite	mood Adjunct: intensity: counterexpectancy: limiting	Predicator	Complement
Mood			Residue

Cf the following dictionary definition:

scientific method: a method of procedure that has characterised natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.