Gricean maxims

Paul Grice, the philosopher, proposed four conversational maxims that arise from the pragmatics of natural language. These maxims are:

Maxim of Quality:

• TRUTH
• Do not say what you believe to be false.
• Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Maxim of Quantity:

• INFORMATION
• Make your contribution as informative as is required for the current purposes of the exchange.
• Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Maxim of Relation:

• RELEVANCE
• Be relevant.

Maxim of Manner:

• CLARITY
• Avoid obscurity of expression.
• Avoid ambiguity.
• Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
• Be orderly.