ThelateJ.L.Austinsinfluenceoncontemporaryphilosophy，whichrankedwiththatofWittgenstein，wassubstantialduringhislifetimeandhasgrowngreatlysincehisdeath.HewasdescrbedasoneofthemostacuteandoriginalmindsthatEnglandhasproducde.　　His1955WilliamJamesLectures，deliveredatHarvardUniversity，werefirstpublishedin1962.ForthissecondeditiontheeditorsreturnedtoAustinslecturenotesandtheirrevisionsmakethisaclearerandmorefaithfulrecordofAustinsworks.　　ThelecturessetoutAustinsconclusionsinthefieldtowhichhedirectedhismaineffortsforatleastthelasttenyearsofhislife.Startingfromanexhaustiveexaminationofhisalreadywell-knowndistinctionofperformativeutterancesfromstatements.Austinherefinallyabandonsthatdistinction，replacingitbyamoregeneraltheoryofillocutionaryforcesofutterances，whichhasimportantbearingsofawidevarietyofphilosophicalproblems.