(Im)politeness, morality and the internet

What is it about?

Much recent research has contributed to the emergence of a moral turn in (im)politeness research, further confirming the evaluative nature of (im)politeness and the moral basis of (im)politeness evaluations, and further illuminating, among other things, what is really at work when (im)politeness evaluations take place, what the moral order consists of and how the moral order influences (im)politeness evaluations. Meanwhile, thanks to much emphasis on the instrumentality of words and utterances, a distinction can be discerned between ‘politeness without’ (or practical politeness) and ‘politeness within’ (or true politeness). Politeness within is true and truthful, but politeness without is not necessarily so. True politeness may be in when self is out. This special issue aims to further foreground the link between (im)politeness and morality in people’s online interactions, revealing something about ourselves and about our life-worlds.

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