Take care not to fall into the idealist hole of thinking that words are not part of the world. We do talk about trees, and we do things to trees with ...
Yeah, well, I suppose in a sense this thread seeks a definition of "definition". In that context, my poiint is that a set of synonyms does not set out...
The sentiment is right. Meaning is always assigned by people. But it's not arbitrary. We use tree rings to fathom age; we don't use some other charact...
my first reaction is that the notion of built in meaning is in error. Meaning is assigned. But you might argue that a screwdriver has a built in meani...
it’s just that your conclusion is at odds with the fact that any and every belief can be put in the form of a propositional attitude. So you have gone...
@"Tomseltje"That's also where @"Pattern-chaser" goes astray, rightly noticing that we impart meaning to tree rings while also concluding that this mea...
SO yes, there is a use for definitions in any conversation, as you describe. Note that the Socratic Dialogues themselves are discussions about the mea...
No, Harry. When we use the word "dog", we use the word "Dog". DO you have a serious argument to present? Edit: the "You MUST" looks to again be transc...
Not all philosophical arguments are transcendental. Edit: I'm referring to the logical structure of the argument: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/t...
Perhaps we can agree that your desire for definitions has its roots in a certain theory of meaning, one more or less in line with the ideas that Harry...
I don't think so. Rather, the way I use the word "dog" is the way that it is used in my community. As I explained, there is nothing that all these use...
A transcendental argument. We get on with our lives; the only way we could get on with our lives is if we understand cause and effect; therefore we un...
Sorry - did you mean it is concept - that concept and meaning are the very same or that meaning is a concept? In either case, does that help? Is the n...
Let's do that again: ...this is different to "The meaning is the definition". The implication is that the definition does not give the meaning; the de...
Why pretend that all talk is of experiences? We do far more with words than just give descriptions, so why take mere describing as the epitome? That's...
You mix the dog-image with the dog-class. What is that image? A dachshund? A wolf? some weird combination of all? Does it include prairie dogs? Fire d...
OK; then the meaning is not given by the definition. So, going back to the OP, there is a point in discussing more than the definition when doing phil...
There's a series of misunderstandings in your post. I'll pick one for you to consider. If this is the case, what sort of thing is the "meaning"? Is it...
Odd, then, if these ideas are understood, that one should think definitions necessary. There is a logical conundrum in the idea that the meaning of a ...
The point was that this is not an empirical enquiry in the sense that any rule you set up giving the meaning of "subjective" can immediately be falsif...
The way to approach the topic would be to list the noted uses for each term in the OED, then see which can be contrasted. And how would we know that w...
To set out criteria is to restrict use. A better idea might be to use a dictionary - one on historical principles, that is descriptive rather than pro...
Then there is that weird argument, seemingly too silly to state out loud but implied in many a post, that because definitions are just more words, all...
All you are asking is "how is it used?". And as you can see from this thread, it is used in a variety of ways. Problems tend to occur when someone say...
You said: I supposed you meant that a belief can be a proposition stating a fact - a true proposition. But that's not right. A belief is not a true pr...
That was part of it's attraction for me; it describes wheels spinning without ever engaging, an aspect of much of philosophy. It's, as you set out, th...
It's both interesting and terrifying. A glorious civilisation collapsing before our eyes. While an ancient one rises in the East (er... north, form he...
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