Araştırma Makalesi
BibTex RIS Kaynak Göster

Bir Politik Söz Edimi Olarak “Acı İçindeyim”: Wittgenstein, Dil ve Acı Söylemi

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1, 470 - 489, 26.03.2026
https://doi.org/10.29110/soylemdergi.1853551
https://izlik.org/JA58XA95GB

Öz

Bu çalışma, “Acı çekiyorum” ifadesinin yalnızca içsel bir duyumun basit bir aktarımı olmadığını; anlamı, etkisi ve sonuçları ortak dilsel ve toplumsal pratikler içinde ortaya çıkan politik bir söz edimi olduğunu savunur. Biyomedikal, psikolojik, sosyal ve politik yaklaşımlardan yararlanarak, acının biyolojik mekanizmalar, öznel yorumlama, kültürel normlar ve iktidar yapıları tarafından üretilen ve şekillenen çok boyutlu bir olgu olduğunu gösterir. Wittgenstein’ın dil oyunları anlayışı, antropolojik ve sosyodilbilimsel çözümlemelerle birlikte ele alınarak, acının yalnızca çığlık ve bağırma gibi sesler, metaforlar, anlatılar ya da jestler gibi kamusal olarak tanınabilir ölçütler aracılığıyla ifade edildiğinde anlaşılır hale geldiği ortaya konur. Dilsel ifade acının yalnızca betimleyicisi değil, kurucu unsurudur; ifade edilmediğinde ya da tanınmadığında acı, toplumsal veya siyasal düzeyde silinme riski taşır. Söz edimi kuramı ile edimsellik ve tanınma çerçevesi üzerinden çalışma, “Acı çekiyorum” ifadesini yanıt talep eden, kırılganlığı ortaya koyan, toplumsal ilişkileri yeniden düzenleyen ve inandırıcılık ile otorite hiyerarşilerini açığa çıkaran edimsöz bir eylem olarak kavramsallaştırır. Bu söz ediminin başarısı, konuşanları farklı biçimlerde meşrulaştıran normatif ve kurumsal yapılara bağlı olduğundan, acının ifadesi görünürlük, ilgi ve iktidarın eşitsiz dağılımını açığa çıkaran ve onu tartışmaya açan politik bir müdahale olarak işler.

Kaynakça

  • Ahmed, Sara. (2014). The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Austin, John. Langshaw. (1962). How To Do Things with Words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Bain, David. (2011). The Imperative View of Pain. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 18(9–10), 164–185.
  • Bailey, Carol. Ann., & Davidson, Peter. Oliver. (1976). The Language of Pain: Intensity. Pain, 2, 319–324.
  • Biro, David. (2010). The Language of Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, And Relief. W.W. Norton
  • Bourke, Joanna. (2014). The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Brand, Paul., & Yancey, Philip. (1997). The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It. Zondervan.
  • Butler, Judith. (1997). Excitable Speech: A Politics of The Performative. Routledge.
  • Butler, Judith. (2009). Frames Of War: When Is Life Grievable? Verso.
  • Carel, Havi. (2016). Phenomenology Of Illness. Oxford University Press.
  • Cassell, Eric. Jacob. (1982). The Nature of Suffering and The Goals of Medicine. The New England Journal of Medicine, 306(11), 639–645.
  • Craig, Kenneth. Donald. (2009). The Social Communication Model of Pain. Canadian Psychology, 50(1), 22–32.
  • Das, Veena. (1998). Wittgenstein and Anthropology. In Martha Craven Nussbaum & Cass Robert Sunstein (Eds.), Clones and Clones: Facts and Fantasies About Human Cloning (pp. 171–186). W. W. Norton.
  • Duncan, Grant. (2019). The Social Life of Pain. In Scott van Rysewyk (Ed.), Meanings of Pain: Volume 2. Common Types of Pain and Language (pp. 283–304). Springer.
  • Eisenberger, Naomi. Ione. (2015). Social Pain and The Brain: Controversies, Questions, And Where to Go from Here. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 601–629.
  • Ehlich, Konrad. (1985). The Language of Pain. Theoretical Medicine 6, 177–187.
  • Fabrega, Horacio. (1976). Disease and Social Behaviour. MIT Press.
  • Foucault, Michel. (1972). The Archaeology of Knowledge. Pantheon Books.
  • Fricker, Miranda. (2007). Epistemic Injustice: Power and The Ethics of Knowing. Oxford University Press.
  • Goertz, Gary. (1953). Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide. Princeton University
  • Good, Byron. James. (1994). Medicine, Rationality, And Experience: An Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
  • Habermas, Jürgen. (1972). Knowledge and Human Interests. Beacon Press.
  • Hall, John. Edward. (2008). Guyton And Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (12th ed.). Saunders Elsevier
  • Haslanger, Sally. (2005). What are We Talking About? The Semantics and Politics of Social Kinds. Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, 20(4), 10–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2005.tb00533.x
  • IASP Task Force on Taxonomy. (1979). Pain Terms: A List with Definitions and Notes on Usage. Pain, 6(3), 249–252.
  • Klein, Colin. (2007, October). An Imperative Theory of Pain. The Journal of Philosophy, 104(10), 517-532.
  • Kleinman, Arthur. (1988). The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and The Human Condition. Basic Books.
  • Kunz, Matthias., Prkachin, Kenneth. Michael., Solomon, Paul. Edward., & Lautenbacher, Stefan. (2020, November 1). Faces Of Pain Across the Lifespan: Influence of Age on Facial Expressions of Pain. European Journal of Pain, 24(4), 693–703.
  • Lakoff, George., & Johnson, Mark. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press.
  • MacDonald, Geoff., & Jensen Campbell, Lorna Ann. (2011). Social Pain Research: Accomplishments and Challenges. In Geoff MacDonald & Lorna Ann Jensen Campbell (Eds.), Social Pain: Neuropsychological and Health Implications of Loss and Exclusion (pp. 237–241). American Psychological Association
  • MacDonald, Geoff., Kingsbury, Rhiannon., & Shaw, Samantha. (2005). Adding Insult to Injury: Social Pain Theory and Response to Social Exclusion. In Kipling Douglas Williams, Joseph Paul Forgas, & William von Hippel (Eds.), The Social Outcast: Ostracism, Social Exclusion, Rejection, and Bullying (pp. 77–90). Psychology Press
  • MacDonald, Geoff., & Leary, Mark. Rowland. (2005). Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain. Psychological Bulletin, 131(2), 202–223.
  • McCaffery, Margo. (1968). Nursing Practice Theories Related to Cognition, Bodily Pain, And Man–Environment Interactions. UCLA Students’ Store.
  • McCaffery, Margo., & Pasero, Chris. (1999). Pain: Clinical Manual (2nd ed.). Mosby.
  • Melzack, Ronald. (1975). The Mcgill Pain Questionnaire: Major Properties and Scoring Methods. Pain, 1(3), 277–299.
  • Melzack, Ronald. (1999). From the Gate to the Neuromatrix. Pain, Suppl 6, S121–S126.
  • Merskey, Harold. (1991). The Definition of Pain. European Psychiatry, 6(4), 153–159.
  • Miller, D. (2013). Political Philosophy For Earthlings. In Justice for Earthlings: Essays in Political Philosophy (pp. 16–39). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Morris, David. Balfour. (1991). The Culture of Pain. University of California Press.
  • Morrow, Raymond., & Brown, David. (1994). Critical theory and methodology. SAGE Publications.
  • Ometita, Marco. (2018). Pain And Space. In Sophie Rinofner-Kreidl & Harald Andreas Wiltsche (Eds.), Analytical and Continental Philosophy: Methods and Perspectives (pp. 101–122). De Gruyter.
  • Raja, Srinivasa. Narasimhan., Carr, Daniel. Brook., Cohen, Michael., Finnerup, Nanna. Brix., Flor, Herta., Gibson, Stephen., . . . van der Vader, Kees. (2020). The Revised International Association for The Study of Pain Definition of Pain: Concepts, Challenges, And Compromises. Pain, 1-7.
  • Ramachandran, Vilaynur. Subramanian., & Blakeslee, Sandra. (1998). Phantoms In the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of The Human Mind. William Morrow.
  • Rey, Rroselyne. (1998). The History of Pain (Lucy Penelope Rose Weaver, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1993).
  • Scarry, Elaine. (1985). The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of The World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Schleifer, Ronald. (2014). Pain And Suffering. New York & London: Routledge.
  • Searle, John. Rogers. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in The Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.
  • Sturgeon, John. Andrew, & Zautra, Alexandra. Jane. (2016). Social Pain and Physical Pain: Shared Paths to Resilience. Pain Management, 6(1), 63–74.
  • Sullivan, Mark. Daniel. (1995). Pain In Language: From Sentience to Sapience. Journal Of Pain and Symptom Management, 10(2), 88–95.
  • Taylor, Charles. (1971). Interpretation and the Sciences of Man. The Review of Metaphysics, 25(1), 3–51.
  • Waddie, Nancy. Ann. (1996). Language And Pain Expression. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 23(4), 868–872.
  • Wallace, Mark. Stephen., & Staats, Peter. Steward. (Eds.). (2005). Pain Medicine and Management: Just the Facts. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
  • van Wilgen, Cornelis. Petrus., & Keizer, Danielle. (2012). Chronic Pain and Chronic Fatigue: A Guide to Assessment and Treatment. Routledge.
  • Wilson, David., Williams, Mark., & Butler, David. (2009). Language and the Pain Experience. Physiotherapy Research International, 14(1), 56–65.
  • Wittgenstein, Ludwig. (1986/2009). Philosophical Investigations (Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe, Trans., 3rd ed.). Basil Blackwell.
  • Zborowski, Mark. (1952). Cultural Components in Responses to Pain. Journal Of Social Issues, 8(4), 16–30.
  • Zembylas, Michalinos. (2007). The Politics of Trauma and Empathy: Empathy, Trauma and the Politics of Difference. Peace Review, 19(1), 1–11

‘I Am in Pain’ as a Political Speech Act: Wittgenstein, Language, and the Discourse of Pain

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1, 470 - 489, 26.03.2026
https://doi.org/10.29110/soylemdergi.1853551
https://izlik.org/JA58XA95GB

Öz

This study argues that the utterance “I am in pain” is not a simple report of an internal sensation but a political speech act whose meaning, force, and consequences emerge through shared linguistic and social practices. Drawing on biomedical, psychological, and social, and political approaches, the study demonstrates that pain is a multidimensional phenomenon produced and shaped by biological mechanisms, subjective interpretation, cultural norms, and structures of power. Integrating Wittgenstein’s account of language-games with anthropological and sociolinguistic analyses, it shows that pain becomes intelligible only when expressed through publicly recognisable criteria, such as cries, metaphors, narratives, or gestures. Linguistic expression is constitutive of pain, not merely descriptive: without articulation or acknowledgment, pain risks becoming socially or politically erased. Through speech act theory and framework of performativity and recognition, the study conceptualises “I am in pain” as an illocutionary act that demands response, asserts vulnerability, reorganises social relations, and exposes hierarchies of credibility and authority. Because its success depends on normative and institutional structures that differentially legitimise speakers, the expression of pain operates as a political intervention that reveals and contests the unequal distribution of visibility, care, and power.

Kaynakça

  • Ahmed, Sara. (2014). The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Austin, John. Langshaw. (1962). How To Do Things with Words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Bain, David. (2011). The Imperative View of Pain. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 18(9–10), 164–185.
  • Bailey, Carol. Ann., & Davidson, Peter. Oliver. (1976). The Language of Pain: Intensity. Pain, 2, 319–324.
  • Biro, David. (2010). The Language of Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, And Relief. W.W. Norton
  • Bourke, Joanna. (2014). The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Brand, Paul., & Yancey, Philip. (1997). The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It. Zondervan.
  • Butler, Judith. (1997). Excitable Speech: A Politics of The Performative. Routledge.
  • Butler, Judith. (2009). Frames Of War: When Is Life Grievable? Verso.
  • Carel, Havi. (2016). Phenomenology Of Illness. Oxford University Press.
  • Cassell, Eric. Jacob. (1982). The Nature of Suffering and The Goals of Medicine. The New England Journal of Medicine, 306(11), 639–645.
  • Craig, Kenneth. Donald. (2009). The Social Communication Model of Pain. Canadian Psychology, 50(1), 22–32.
  • Das, Veena. (1998). Wittgenstein and Anthropology. In Martha Craven Nussbaum & Cass Robert Sunstein (Eds.), Clones and Clones: Facts and Fantasies About Human Cloning (pp. 171–186). W. W. Norton.
  • Duncan, Grant. (2019). The Social Life of Pain. In Scott van Rysewyk (Ed.), Meanings of Pain: Volume 2. Common Types of Pain and Language (pp. 283–304). Springer.
  • Eisenberger, Naomi. Ione. (2015). Social Pain and The Brain: Controversies, Questions, And Where to Go from Here. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 601–629.
  • Ehlich, Konrad. (1985). The Language of Pain. Theoretical Medicine 6, 177–187.
  • Fabrega, Horacio. (1976). Disease and Social Behaviour. MIT Press.
  • Foucault, Michel. (1972). The Archaeology of Knowledge. Pantheon Books.
  • Fricker, Miranda. (2007). Epistemic Injustice: Power and The Ethics of Knowing. Oxford University Press.
  • Goertz, Gary. (1953). Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide. Princeton University
  • Good, Byron. James. (1994). Medicine, Rationality, And Experience: An Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
  • Habermas, Jürgen. (1972). Knowledge and Human Interests. Beacon Press.
  • Hall, John. Edward. (2008). Guyton And Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (12th ed.). Saunders Elsevier
  • Haslanger, Sally. (2005). What are We Talking About? The Semantics and Politics of Social Kinds. Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, 20(4), 10–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2005.tb00533.x
  • IASP Task Force on Taxonomy. (1979). Pain Terms: A List with Definitions and Notes on Usage. Pain, 6(3), 249–252.
  • Klein, Colin. (2007, October). An Imperative Theory of Pain. The Journal of Philosophy, 104(10), 517-532.
  • Kleinman, Arthur. (1988). The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and The Human Condition. Basic Books.
  • Kunz, Matthias., Prkachin, Kenneth. Michael., Solomon, Paul. Edward., & Lautenbacher, Stefan. (2020, November 1). Faces Of Pain Across the Lifespan: Influence of Age on Facial Expressions of Pain. European Journal of Pain, 24(4), 693–703.
  • Lakoff, George., & Johnson, Mark. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press.
  • MacDonald, Geoff., & Jensen Campbell, Lorna Ann. (2011). Social Pain Research: Accomplishments and Challenges. In Geoff MacDonald & Lorna Ann Jensen Campbell (Eds.), Social Pain: Neuropsychological and Health Implications of Loss and Exclusion (pp. 237–241). American Psychological Association
  • MacDonald, Geoff., Kingsbury, Rhiannon., & Shaw, Samantha. (2005). Adding Insult to Injury: Social Pain Theory and Response to Social Exclusion. In Kipling Douglas Williams, Joseph Paul Forgas, & William von Hippel (Eds.), The Social Outcast: Ostracism, Social Exclusion, Rejection, and Bullying (pp. 77–90). Psychology Press
  • MacDonald, Geoff., & Leary, Mark. Rowland. (2005). Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain. Psychological Bulletin, 131(2), 202–223.
  • McCaffery, Margo. (1968). Nursing Practice Theories Related to Cognition, Bodily Pain, And Man–Environment Interactions. UCLA Students’ Store.
  • McCaffery, Margo., & Pasero, Chris. (1999). Pain: Clinical Manual (2nd ed.). Mosby.
  • Melzack, Ronald. (1975). The Mcgill Pain Questionnaire: Major Properties and Scoring Methods. Pain, 1(3), 277–299.
  • Melzack, Ronald. (1999). From the Gate to the Neuromatrix. Pain, Suppl 6, S121–S126.
  • Merskey, Harold. (1991). The Definition of Pain. European Psychiatry, 6(4), 153–159.
  • Miller, D. (2013). Political Philosophy For Earthlings. In Justice for Earthlings: Essays in Political Philosophy (pp. 16–39). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Morris, David. Balfour. (1991). The Culture of Pain. University of California Press.
  • Morrow, Raymond., & Brown, David. (1994). Critical theory and methodology. SAGE Publications.
  • Ometita, Marco. (2018). Pain And Space. In Sophie Rinofner-Kreidl & Harald Andreas Wiltsche (Eds.), Analytical and Continental Philosophy: Methods and Perspectives (pp. 101–122). De Gruyter.
  • Raja, Srinivasa. Narasimhan., Carr, Daniel. Brook., Cohen, Michael., Finnerup, Nanna. Brix., Flor, Herta., Gibson, Stephen., . . . van der Vader, Kees. (2020). The Revised International Association for The Study of Pain Definition of Pain: Concepts, Challenges, And Compromises. Pain, 1-7.
  • Ramachandran, Vilaynur. Subramanian., & Blakeslee, Sandra. (1998). Phantoms In the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of The Human Mind. William Morrow.
  • Rey, Rroselyne. (1998). The History of Pain (Lucy Penelope Rose Weaver, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1993).
  • Scarry, Elaine. (1985). The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of The World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Schleifer, Ronald. (2014). Pain And Suffering. New York & London: Routledge.
  • Searle, John. Rogers. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in The Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.
  • Sturgeon, John. Andrew, & Zautra, Alexandra. Jane. (2016). Social Pain and Physical Pain: Shared Paths to Resilience. Pain Management, 6(1), 63–74.
  • Sullivan, Mark. Daniel. (1995). Pain In Language: From Sentience to Sapience. Journal Of Pain and Symptom Management, 10(2), 88–95.
  • Taylor, Charles. (1971). Interpretation and the Sciences of Man. The Review of Metaphysics, 25(1), 3–51.
  • Waddie, Nancy. Ann. (1996). Language And Pain Expression. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 23(4), 868–872.
  • Wallace, Mark. Stephen., & Staats, Peter. Steward. (Eds.). (2005). Pain Medicine and Management: Just the Facts. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
  • van Wilgen, Cornelis. Petrus., & Keizer, Danielle. (2012). Chronic Pain and Chronic Fatigue: A Guide to Assessment and Treatment. Routledge.
  • Wilson, David., Williams, Mark., & Butler, David. (2009). Language and the Pain Experience. Physiotherapy Research International, 14(1), 56–65.
  • Wittgenstein, Ludwig. (1986/2009). Philosophical Investigations (Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe, Trans., 3rd ed.). Basil Blackwell.
  • Zborowski, Mark. (1952). Cultural Components in Responses to Pain. Journal Of Social Issues, 8(4), 16–30.
  • Zembylas, Michalinos. (2007). The Politics of Trauma and Empathy: Empathy, Trauma and the Politics of Difference. Peace Review, 19(1), 1–11
Toplam 57 adet kaynakça vardır.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil İngilizce
Konular Söylem ve Bağlamsal Dilbilim
Bölüm Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar

Gizem Kayahan Dal 0000-0002-7715-330X

Gönderilme Tarihi 1 Ocak 2026
Kabul Tarihi 23 Mart 2026
Yayımlanma Tarihi 26 Mart 2026
DOI https://doi.org/10.29110/soylemdergi.1853551
IZ https://izlik.org/JA58XA95GB
Yayımlandığı Sayı Yıl 2026 Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1

Kaynak Göster

APA Kayahan Dal, G. (2026). ‘I Am in Pain’ as a Political Speech Act: Wittgenstein, Language, and the Discourse of Pain. Söylem Filoloji Dergisi, 11(1), 470-489. https://doi.org/10.29110/soylemdergi.1853551