Person A and B are acquaintances. A asks B “how are you?” B is having serious problems at work, will probably be fired, and face serious economic consequences. B says “fine.” Why did B say “fine” when B was in fact not fine?
Suppose B said “I’m going to lose my job and be really poor for the near future.” Prediction: this will be awkward. Why would this be awkward?
Hypothesis: it is awkward because it contradicts the idea that things are fine. While this contradiction exists in the conversation, A and B will feel tension. Tension can be resolved in a few ways. A could say “oh don’t worry, you can get another job,” contradicting the idea that there is a problem in an unhelpful way that nevertheless restores the narrative that things are fine. A could also say “wow that really sucks, let me know if you need help” agreeing that things aren’t fine and resolving the tension by offering assistance. But A might not want to actually offer assistance in some cases. A could also just say “wow that sucks;” this does not resolve the tension as much as in the previous case, but it does at least mean that A and B are currently agreeing that things aren’t fine, and A has sympathy with B, which ameliorates the tension.
Compare: rising action in a story, which produces tension that must be resolved somehow.
The account you present is rather abstract, and seems to be based on a sort of “narrative” view of social interactions. I am not sure I understand this view well enough to criticize it coherently; I also am not sure what motivates it. (It is also not obvious to me what could falsify the hypothesis in question, nor what it predicts, etc. Certainly I would appreciate a link or two to a more in-depth discussion of this sort of view.)
In any case, there are some quite obvious alternate hypotheses, some of which have been mentioned elsethread, viz.:
All of these alternate hypotheses (and similar ones) make use only of simple, straightforward interests and desires of individuals, and have no need to bring in abstract “narrative” concepts.
Person A and B are acquaintances. A asks B “how are you?” B is having serious problems at work, will probably be fired, and face serious economic consequences. B says “fine.” Why did B say “fine” when B was in fact not fine?
Suppose B said “I’m going to lose my job and be really poor for the near future.” Prediction: this will be awkward. Why would this be awkward?
Hypothesis: it is awkward because it contradicts the idea that things are fine. While this contradiction exists in the conversation, A and B will feel tension. Tension can be resolved in a few ways. A could say “oh don’t worry, you can get another job,” contradicting the idea that there is a problem in an unhelpful way that nevertheless restores the narrative that things are fine. A could also say “wow that really sucks, let me know if you need help” agreeing that things aren’t fine and resolving the tension by offering assistance. But A might not want to actually offer assistance in some cases. A could also just say “wow that sucks;” this does not resolve the tension as much as in the previous case, but it does at least mean that A and B are currently agreeing that things aren’t fine, and A has sympathy with B, which ameliorates the tension.
Compare: rising action in a story, which produces tension that must be resolved somehow.
I see.
The account you present is rather abstract, and seems to be based on a sort of “narrative” view of social interactions. I am not sure I understand this view well enough to criticize it coherently; I also am not sure what motivates it. (It is also not obvious to me what could falsify the hypothesis in question, nor what it predicts, etc. Certainly I would appreciate a link or two to a more in-depth discussion of this sort of view.)
In any case, there are some quite obvious alternate hypotheses, some of which have been mentioned elsethread, viz.:
The “Copenhagen interpretation of ethics”
Guarding against a disadvantageous change in power relations
A simple desire for privacy
All of these alternate hypotheses (and similar ones) make use only of simple, straightforward interests and desires of individuals, and have no need to bring in abstract “narrative” concepts.