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Abstract
This qualitative position paper critically interrogates the applicability of Grice’s (1975) Cooperative Principle, and particularly its Maxim of Quality, within the Persian-Islamic socio-cultural context, where ethical imperatives derived from scriptural and jurisprudential sources may necessitate strategic deviations from truthfulness. Drawing on authoritative Shi‘i legal texts such as Man Lā Yaḥḍuruhu al-Faqīh (Vol. 4) and select Qur’anic injunctions (e.g., Surah Āl ʿImrān 3:28; al-Naḥl 16:106; Ghāfir 40:28), the study demonstrates that deliberate non-truthful utterances are not only permissible but ethically mandated under specific circumstances; namely, in contexts of warfare, interpersonal reconciliation, familial preservation, and taqiyyah (dissimulation or “guard-avoidance” to protect life, property, or faith). These culturally sanctioned practices reveal a significant lacuna in Grice’s framework: the absence of an explicit ethical dimension that governs communicative conduct beyond logical cooperation. The paper thus proposes the integration of a Maxim of Ethics as a fifth constitutive principle within the Gricean model, arguing that (1) ethical considerations must condition adherence to the Maxim of Quality, and (2) communicative norms should prohibit discourse that is offensive, harmful, or socially disruptive, even when factually accurate. By foregrounding the role of culturally embedded moral reasoning in pragmatic interaction, this study contributes to cross-cultural pragmatics, Islamic discourse ethics, and the theoretical refinement of conversational maxims beyond Anglo-centric paradigms.