ABSTRACT
Many different terms have been used to denote various kinds of such global structures. The distinction between global and local structures should also be construed along another intuitive dimension, that of point of view, that is, we not only have objects or phenomena for which a distinction is made between their parts and their whole but at the same time this distinction may be projected in our cognitive manipulation of such objects. Utterances may be studied not only as manifestations of discourse but also as manifestations of social actions, as speech acts. Both in monologue and in conversation this may involve a sequence of speech acts. Also at this level, which is the object of the discipline of pragmatics, it makes sense to distinguish between local and global structures. Valuable indications about the global nature of complex interaction also comes from the various cognitive terms necessary to define such actions, such as plan, intention, goal, or purpose.
