The cooperative principle and its attendant maxims proposed by H.P.Grice have generally been regarded as guidelines on human communication.However,there seem to be much doubt on whether such an overarching principle and the four maxims are truly useful and essential within the linguistic field.The present essay represents an attempt to reconsider the maxim of quality by comparing it with the other maxims.The author also endeavours to cast light on its usefulness and essentiality.Compared with other maxims,the maxim of quality is found to be important and useful in that it guarantees the quality of the information on the one hand and sheds much light on the philosophical problem of Moore's paradox on the other hand.Nevertheless,it also faces serious challenges such as accusations of its defectiveness in accounting for instances of non-factual statements and language used in various figure of speech and loose talks.
