"How" questions and the manner–method distinction

pp. 3169-3194

in: Synthese 193 (10), 2016.

Abstract

How questions are understudied in philosophy and linguistics. They can be answered in very different ways, some of which are poorly understood. Jaworski (Synthese 166:133–155, 2009) identifies several types: (i) ‘manner’, (ii) ‘method, means or mechanism’, (iii) ‘cognitive resolution’, and develops a logic designed to enable us to distinguish among them. Some key questions remain open, however, in particular, whether these distinctions derive from an ambiguity in how, from differences in the logical structure of the question or from contextual underspecification. Arguing from two classes of responses, adverbs and by gerunds, I give the answer that the logical structure of the question is indeed relevant: loosely, manners are adjuncts but methods are arguments.