Can the Knowledge Norm Co‐Opt the Opt Out?

The Knowledge Norm of Assertion ( KNA ) claims that it is proper to assert that p only if one knows that p. Though supported by a wide range of evidence, it appears to generate incorrect verdicts when applied to utterances of “I don't know.” Instead of being an objection to KNA , I argue that this linguistic data shows that “I don't know” does not standardly function as a literal assertion about one's epistemic status; rather, it is an indirect speech act that has the primary illocutionary force of opting out of the speaker's conversational responsibilities. This explanation both reveals that the opt‐out is an under‐appreciated type of illocutionary act with a wide range of applications, and shows that the initial data in fact supports KNA over its rivals.