ABSTRACT
The text that we now have under the title How to Do Things with Words is substantially that which Austin used in giving the William James Lectures at Harvard in 1955. He had lectured on the same subject-matter, from similar but not identical sets of notes, in Oxford since 1952, under the title ‘Words and deeds’; and he used the Harvard text again in later lectures in Oxford, making minor corrections and additions as he went along. It is quite clear from the manuscript that he had eventual publication in mind, and was patiently and gradually making his way towards that objective-the material is quite unlike that of Sense and Sensibilia, no part of which had been cast by Austin himself into anything like printable form, The text remains, however, in some respects lecture-like; there is more recapitulation than one might think necessary in a printed book, more informality (though Austin’s style in writing is in fact never very far from that of the speaking voice), and there are certainly brevities and baldnesses here and there, particularly towards the end, which he would certainly have expected to amplify in delivering the lectures, and may also have intended to expand for publication.
