Negotiating meaning in relationships: collaboration and fluency in metalinguistic disputes

Existing metalinguistic tools are insufficient for relationships of all types to ethically navigate the complexities of intimacy, boundaries, and communication. Individuals in relationships that are unhealthy, unfair or simply unsatisfying are often not equipped with the appropriate communicative tools for actualising and resolving disagreements and incompatibilities. Conditions internal and external to our relationships often disincentivise individuals from engaging in virtuous and productive negotiation practices. To mitigate this, I propose the introduction of the concept of ‘metalinguistic collaboration’, which describes the act of engaging in metalinguistic disagreement with the goal of enacting virtuous negotiation practices. ‘Metalinguistic collaboration’ encourages increased attention to the actual processes of relationships rather than merely their outcomes. In creating a robust definition of metalinguistic collaboration, I also address an assortment of epistemic, interpersonal and affective virtues and vices that should be more effectively integrated and avoided, respectively. I propose strategies focused on addressing the dispositions and beliefs that can cause and aggravate vicious behaviour rather than attempting to resolve them entirely. I draw from a diverse array of literature in the fields of philosophy, sociology and queer theory and examine the ways that non-normative relationship models, such as polyamory and queerplatonic relationships, might improve upon traditional practices. Across this thesis, I create a comprehensive and ameliorative analysis of the metalinguistics of negotiation, collaboration, and the value of disagreement.