First Approach to Semantics of Silence in Testimonies

Abstract

The right to silence is considered in several legal systems. However, this phenomenon has not been sufficiently studied from a logic perspective. After reviewing some previous studies of intentional silence, Grice’s conversational implicature, and omissive implicature, we formulated three interpretations of silence. Once the semantics are stated, we explore the consequences of such interpretations in puzzles as a case study involving testimonies, expressing them in answer set programming. Several conclusions are derived from the different possibilities that were opened for the analysis. Finally, we propose a strategy to generalize the use of semantics in contexts related to testimonies or interviews.