Representation of Social Actors in J. Krishnamurti and Alan Watts’ Philosophical Speeches: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This study, through the lens of Theo van Leeuwen’s critical discourse analysis model, investigates the representation of social actors in the lectures of two renowned philosophers, namely J. Krishnamurti and Alan Watts. The analysis of the transcribed lectures of the selected philosophers examined the representation of social actors with an emphasis on frequencies of inclusion, exclusion and the morpho-syntactic mechanisms employed in these speeches to exclude social actors. . The results showed that the social actors were represented differently in some discursive features: Krishnamurti, in his lecture(s), addressed a wider range of audience, beyond those people who were physically present in front of him. He deliberately avoided assuming the role of a teacher, and speaking as a ‘we’ to a ‘one.’ Alan Watts, on the other hand, was more involved with ‘I’ and ‘you’, present here and now in the lecture room.