Are all performatives statements?

Abstract

In this paper, I defend Austin?s thesis that performatives are not statements by definition. Austin claimed that if promises are statements, we would not talk about promises anymore, but rather about statements. He also relativized the distinction between performatives and constatives. I assess whether such a relativization corroborates the claim that performatives are statements. I also criticize Kent Bach?s thesis that explicit performatives are statements. Nevertheless, I endorse a view that some performatives are statements (so-called performative statements). Another thesis I am going to reject is that performatives should primarily be considered as statements, and secondarily as promises, pieces of advice, and so on.