2.3 Definitions and Their Purposes - Terminology

"capital" means 1. a letter in the form A, B, C, etc. 2. wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organization or available or contributed for a particular purpose such as starting a company or investing. "depression" means 1. a state of feeling sad 2. a period of time in which there is little economic activity and many people do not have jobs

2. Construct lexical definitions for ''capital'' and ''depression,'' and indicate two different meanings for each.

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2.3 Definitions and Their Purposes - Terminology (+-+-+-+)

The government is doing a study on "middle-aged" individuals. But who is middle-aged? "middle aged" means having lived to a period between 40 and 60; e.g., We are seeking "middle-aged" individuals to participate in our study. A logic based course is being offered to help alcoholics, but what meant by "alcoholic"? "alcoholic" means person who has an emotional disposition (involving moral social appropriateness or inappropriateness) undeservedly favoring or opposing alcohol or persons who drink alcohol

3. Construct precising definitions for ''middle-aged'' and ''alcoholic.'' Interpret both words as relating to people and specify the purpose for which the definitions are to be used.

"Energy" means the capacity to do work: the property of a system that diminishes when the system does work on another system, by an amount equal to the work. "Atom" means the smallest component of an element having chemical properties of the element, consisting of a nucleus containing combinations of protons and neutrons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction, and where the number of protons determines the identity of the element.

4. Construct theoretical definitions for ''energy'' and ''atom.''

"conservative" means a person favoring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas. "conservative" means someone who favors wholesome values, individual and states freedoms, free from government intervention. "conservative" means someone favoring repression of social change at the expense of financial gain, while emphasizing unregulated, Darwinian, business practices. "Socialism" means a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. "socialism" means a system of government in which all people own the land and means of production allowing each individual a share of land and profit. "socialism" means a political system whereby individual rights and freedoms are sacrificed at the expense of an all-powerful state.

5. Construct opposing pairs of persuasive definitions for ''conservative'' and ''socialism.''

true

A lexical definition reports the way a word is actually used in a language.

false

A stipulative definition is either true or false.

precising definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★1. ''Blind'' means, for federal income tax purposes, either the inability to see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or having a field of vision of 20 degrees or less.

theoretical definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★10. ''Sound'' means a compression wave in air or some other elastic medium having a frequency ranging (for humans) from 20 to 20,000 vibrations per second.

Stipulative definition.

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★13. ''Scaling'' means a sport in which people race four-wheel drive vehicles up the face of boulder-strewn hillsides

Persuasive definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★16. ''Psychiatry'' means the fortuitous melding of modern medicine with psychology that promises relief to thousands of poor, desperate souls who suffer the pains of emotional disorder

Lexical definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★19. ''Intractable'' means not easily governed; obstinate; unruly; not disposed to be taught.

precising definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★22. ''Assault'' means, for legal purposes, an intentional and unprivileged act resulting in the apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive contact

lexical definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★4. ''Diffident'' means lacking confidence in oneself; characterized by modest reserve.

persuasive definition

Determine whether the following definitions are stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, or persuasive. ★7. ''Politician'' means a person of unquestioned honesty and integrity whom the people, in their collective wisdom, have duly elected to guide the ship of state and protect it from the reefs and shoals that threaten it on every side.

false

From the standpoint of logic, many definitions are concerned not with words but with things.

"Piggly-No-Wiggly" means a golf ball sized cylindrical, rubber pigs, with four short legs, a tail, a sucker on one end, used for propping up book. "self-correcting lenses" means a pair of glasses in which the lenses adjust themselves, slowly correcting one's vision while the glasses are worn.

II. The following exercises involve constructing definitions 1. Invent stipulative definitions for two new words that you wish to introduce into the language for the first time.

true

One of the purposes of a lexical definition is to guard against the ambiguous use of a word.

true

The definiendum is the word or term that is supposed to be defined

true

The definiens is the word or group of words that assigns a meaning to the word being defined

false

The meaning (real meaning - or thing or idea being pointed to) given to (paired with) a word by a precising definition is completely arbitrary.

true

The purpose of a persuasive definition is to influence attitudes.

false

Theoretical definitions are either true or false, just as are lexical definitions.

true

Theoretical definitions provide a theoretical characterization of the entity or entities denoted by the word being defined.

vagueness

a condition by which a word allows for borderline cases such that it is impossible to tell whether the word applies to them or not

persuasive definition

a definition intended to engender a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward what is denoted by the definiendum The purpose of a ______________ _______________ is to engender a favorable or unfavorable attitude (belief, feeling) toward what is denoted by the definiendum. This purpose is accomplished by assigning (pairing) an emotionally charged or value-laden meaning (a "value claim" is a claim that something is good, bad, right, wrong, or better, worse, more important or less important than some other thing) while making it appear that the word really has (or ought to have) that meaning in the language in which it is used. Thus, ____________ _______________ amount to a certain synthesis of stipulative, lexical, and, possibly, theoretical definitions backed by the rhetorical motive to engender a certain attitude (belief, opinon, feeling). As a result of this synthesis, a persuasive definition masquerades as an honest assignment of meaning to a term while condemning or blessing with approval the subject matter (real meaning) of the definiendum. Here are some examples of opposing pairs of persuasive definitions: ''Abortion'' means the ruthless murdering of innocent human beings. ''Abortion'' means a safe and established surgical procedure whereby a woman is relieved of an unwanted burden. ''Liberal'' means a drippy-eyed do-gooder obsessed with giving away other people's money. ''Liberal'' means a genuine humanitarian committed to the goals of adequate housing and health care and of equal opportunity for all of our citizens. ''Capitalism'' means the economic system in which individuals are afforded the God-given freedom to own property and conduct business as they choose. ''Capitalism'' means the economic system in which humanity is sacrificed to the wanton quest for money, and mutual understanding and respect are replaced by alienation, greed, and selfishness. ''Taxation'' means the procedure by means of which our commonwealth is preserved and sustained." ''Taxation'' means the procedure used by bureaucrats to rip off the people who elected them." The objective of a _____________ ___________ is to influence the attitudes (opinions, beliefs, feelings) of the reader or listener; thus, such definitions may be used with considerable effectiveness in political speeches and editorial columns. While ______________ _______________ may, like lexical definitions, be evaluated as either true or false (how its meaning actually corresponds with the lexical definition of the word), the primary issue is neither truth nor falsity but the effectiveness of such definitions as instruments of persuasion. - whether the creator of the definition can get others to accept or believe the definition.

precising definition

a definition intended to reduce the vagueness of a word The purpose of a _______________ _______________ is to reduce the vagueness of a word. As we saw in the first section of this chapter, an expression is vague if there are borderline cases in which it is impossible to tell if the word applies or does not apply. Words such as ''fresh,'' ''rich,'' and ''poor'' are vague. Once the vagueness of such words is reduced by a ____________ ____________ , one can reach a decision as to the applicability of the word to a specific situation. For example: If legislation were ever introduced to give direct financial assistance to the poor, a ______________ ______________ would have to be supplied specifying exactly who is poor and who is not. The definition '''Poor' means having an annual income of less than $4,000 and a net worth of less than $20,000'' is an example of a ____________ _____________. Whenever words are taken from ordinary usage and used in a highly systematic context such as science, mathematics, medicine, or law, they must always be clarified by means of a _____________ _____________. The terms ''force,'' ''energy,'' ''acid,'' ''element,'' ''number,'' ''equality,'' ''contract,'' and ''agent'' have all been given precising definitions by specific disciplines. Sometimes the substance of a court trial may revolve around the precise usage of a term. A trial in California addressed the question of whether a man who had driven a bicycle while intoxicated violated the motor vehicle code. The question concerned whether, for these purposes, a bicycle could be considered a ''vehicle.'' The court decided in the affirmative, and the decision amounted to an incremental extension of an already existent ____________ ____________ of the word ''vehicle.'' Another example involves the practice of surgical transplantation of vital organs. Before a heart transplant can be conducted, the donor must be dead; otherwise the surgeon will be accused of murder. If the donor is dead for too long, however, the success of the transplant will be imperiled. But exactly when is a person considered to be dead? Is it when the heart stops beating, when the person stops breathing, when rigor mortis sets in, or some other time? The question involves the meaning of the term ''moment of death.'' The courts have decided that ''moment of death'' should be taken to mean the moment the brain stops functioning, as measured by an electroencephalograph. This decision amounts to the acceptance of a ___________ _____________ for ''moment of death.'' A _______________ ________________ differs from a stipulative definitions in that the latter involves a purely arbitrary assignment of meaning, whereas the assignment of meaning in a precising definition is not at all arbitrary. A great deal of care must be taken to ensure that the assignment of meaning in a ______________ ______________ is appropriate and legitimate for the context within which the term is to be employed.

theoretical definition

a definition that assigns a meaning to a word by suggesting a theory that give a certain characterization to the entities that the term denotes A ____________ ____________ assigns a meaning to a word by suggesting a theory that gives a certain characterization to the entities that the term denotes. Such a definition provides a way of viewing or conceiving these entities that suggests deductive consequences, further investigation (experimental or otherwise), and whatever else would be entailed by the acceptance of a theory governing these entities. The definition of the term ''heat'' found in texts dealing with the kinetic theory of heat provides a good example: '''heat' means the energy associated with the random motion of the molecules of a substance.'' This definition does more than merely assign a meaning to a word; it provides a way of conceiving the physical phenomenon that is heat. In so doing, it suggests the deductive consequence that as the molecules of a substance speed up, the temperature of the substance increases. In addition, it suggests a number of experiments—experiments investigating the relationship between molecular velocity and the phenomena of radiation, gas pressure, molecular elasticity, and molecular configuration. In short, this definition of ''heat'' provides the impetus for an entire theory about heat. Other examples of __________ __________ are the definition of ''light'' as a form of electromagnetic radiation and the definition of ''force,'' ''mass,'' and ''acceleration'' in Newton's second law of motion as expressed in the equation ''F=MA.'' The latter is a kind of contextual definition in which each term is defined in terms of the other two. Both definitions entail numerous deductive consequences about the phenomena involved and suggest numerous avenues of experimental investigation. Not all ____________ _____________ are associated with science. Many terms in philosophy, such as ''substance,'' ''form,'' ''cause,'' ''change,'' ''idea,'' ''good,'' ''mind,'' and ''God,'' have been given theoretical definitions. In fact, most of the major philosophers in history have given these terms their own peculiar theoretical definitions, and this fact accounts in part for the unique

stipulative definition

a definition that assigns a meaning to a word for the first time A _______________ _______________ assigns (pairs) a meaning (thing or idea being pointed to) to a word (descriptive meaning) for the first time. This may involve either coining a new word or giving a new meaning to an old word. The purpose of a __________ ___________ is usually to replace a more complex expression with a simpler one. The need for a ________________ ______________ is often occasioned by some new phenomenon or development. For example: A few years ago the attempt was made at a certain zoo to crossbreed tigers and lions. Because of the genetic similarity of the two species, the attempt succeeded. Offspring were produced from a male tiger and a female lion and from a male lion and a female tiger. When the offspring were born (real meaning), it became appropriate to give them names (symbolic meaning). Of course, the names ''offspring of male tiger and female lion'' and ''offspring of male lion and female tiger'' could have been used, but these names were hardly convenient. Instead, the names ''tigon'' and ''liger'' were selected. Any two new words would have sufficed equally well for naming the offspring— ''topar'' and ''largine'' for example—but ''tigon'' and ''liger'' were considered more appropriate, for obvious reasons. ''Tigon'' was taken to mean the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion, and ''liger'' the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. These assignments of meanings were accomplished through _________________ _________________. Another use for _____________ _______________ is to set up secret codes. For examples: During World War II, ''Tora, Tora, Tora'' was the code name (symbolic meaning) Admiral Yamamoto transmitted to the war office in Tokyo signaling that the Japanese fleet had not been spotted in the hours preceding the bombing of Pearl Harbor (real meaning); ''Operation Barbarosa'' was the name (symbolic meaning) the Germans gave to the invasion of Russia (real meaning); ''Operation Overlord'' was the name (descriptive meaning) the allied forces gave to the planned invasion of Normandy (real meaning or thing or ideal being pointed to). More recently, ''Operation Desert Storm'' was the code name (symbolic meaning) given to the military invasion of Iraq (actual meaning). Law enforcement organizations have adopted similar code names (symbolic meanings) for sting operations against organized crime (real meaning). Because people are continually coming up with new creations, whether it be new food concoctions, new inventions, new modes of behavior, new kinds of apparel, new dances, or whatever (real meanings or things or ideas being pointed to), ________________ _______________ are continually being used to introduce (assign/pair) names for these things (real meanings). Sometimes these definitions are only implicit and amount to little more than the spontaneous association (pairing/assigning) of the word with some action (real meaning or thing or idea being point to)—as was probably the case when the words ''bop,'' ''twist,'' ''jerk,'' and ''chicken'' came to be known as names of dances a few decades ago. At other times, they are definitely explicit, as when the word ''penicillin'' (descriptive meaning) was selected as the name for an antibacterial substance produced by certain Penicillium molds (real meaning), or when the symbol ''10 to the 5th power '' was chosen as a simple substitute for ''10 10 10 10 10.'' Because a ________________ _________________ is a completely arbitrary assignment of a meaning (real meaning) to a word (descriptive meaning) for the first time, there can be no such thing as a ''true'' or ''false'' ______________ _________________ . Furthermore, for the same reason, a _______________ ______________ cannot provide any new information about the subject matter of the definiendum. The fact that the word ''tigon'' was selected to replace ''offspring of a male tiger and a female lion'' tells us nothing new about the nature of the animal in question. One ______________ ______________ may, however, be more or less convenient or more or less appropriate than another. _________________ ________________ are misused in verbal disputes (disputes that involve the meaning of words, as opposed to factual disputes - disputes that involve a matter of fact) when one person covertly uses a word in a peculiar way (and then proceeds to assume that everyone else uses that word in the same way. Under these circumstances that person is said to be using the word ''stipulatively.'' In such cases the assumption that other persons use the word in the same way is rarely justified.

lexical definition

a definition that is intended to report the way a word is actually used in a language A ____________ _______________ is used to report the meaning (symbolic meaning which points to the real meaning - the actual thing or idea that the descriptive meaning points to) that a word already has in a language. Dictionary definitions are all instances of __________ ________________. Thus, in contrast with a stipulative definition, which assigns (pairs) a meaning (real meaning) to a word (descriptive meaning) for the first time, a ______________ _______________ may be true or false depending on whether it does or does not report the way a word is actually used ("dog" means plant - a false lexical definition). Because words are frequently used in more than one way, ____________ ______________ have the further purpose of eliminating the ambiguity that would otherwise arise if one of these meanings were to be confused with another. As we saw in the first section of this chapter, an expression is ambiguous when it can be interpreted as having two or more clearly distinct meanings in a given context. Words such as ''light,'' ''mad,'' and ''bank'' can be used ambiguously. Because a ____________ ______________ lists the various meanings that a word can have, a person who consults such a definition is better prepared to avoid ambiguous constructions of his or her own and to detect those of others. Undetected ambiguity causes the most trouble. In many cases the problem lies not with the obvious differences in meaning that words such as ''light'' and ''bank'' may have but with the subtle shadings of meaning that are more likely to be confused with one another. For example: If a woman is described as ''nice,'' any number of things could be intended. She could be fastidious (insisting on perfection or paying much attention to food, clothing and cleanlinessy), refined (mannered, educated, cultured), modest (shy about showing her body especially in a sexual way), or even lewd (sexual in an offensive or rude way). A good _____________ _____________ will distinguish these various shadings and thereby guard against the possibility that two such meanings will be unconsciously jumbled together into one.

definition

a group of words that assigns a meaning to a word or group of words Over the years philosophers have held various conflicting views about the purpose of _________________. For Plato, to mention just one, __________________ were intended to explicate the meaning [real meaning or thing represented by a group of words] of certain eternal essences or forms, such as justice, piety, and virtue. For most logicians today, however, _________________ are intended exclusively to explicate [verbalize, explain, make clear] the meaning (real meaning) of words.

definiendum

in a definition, the word or group of words that are proposed to be defined For most logicians today, however, definitions are intended exclusively to explicate [verbalize, make clear] the meaning of words. In conformity with this latter position, we may define definition as a group of words that assigns [pairs] a meaning [thing represented or pointed to by a group of words] to some word or group of words. Accordingly, every definition consists of two parts: the ______________ and the definiens [descriptive meaning]. The ________________ is the word or group of words that is supposed to be defined, and the definiens is the word or group of words that does the defining. For example, in the definition '''Tiger' means a large, striped, ferocious feline indigenous to the jungles of India and Asia,'' the word ''tiger'' is the _________________, and everything after the word ''means'' is the definiens. The definiens is not itself the meaning (real meaning) of the _________________; rather, it is the group of words that symbolizes (or that is supposed to symbolize) the same meaning (real meaning) as the _________________. Because we presumably know in advance what the definiens symbolizes, we are led, via the definition, to understand what [the real meaning] the _________________ symbolizes. It is in this way that the definition ''assigns'' a meaning (real meaning) to its definiendum.

definiens

in a definition, the word or group of words that do the defining For most logicians today, however, definitions are intended exclusively to explicate the meaning of words. In conformity with this latter position, we may define definition as a group of words that assigns a meaning to some word or group of words. Accordingly, every definition consists of two parts: the definiendum and the _______________. The definiendum is the word or group of words that is supposed to be defined, and the __________________ is the word or group of words that does the defining. For example, in the definition '''Tiger' means a large, striped, ferocious feline indigenous to the jungles of India and Asia,'' the word ''tiger'' is the definiendum, and everything after the word ''means'' is the _____________. The _______________ is not itself the meaning (real meaning) of the definiendum; rather, it is the group of words that symbolizes (or that is supposed to symbolize) the same (real) meaning as the definiendum. Because we presumably know, in advance what (actual thing or idea being pointed to) the _______________ symbolizes we are led, via the definition, to understand what (the real meaning) the definiendum symbolizes. It is in this way that the definition ''assigns'' a (real) meaning to its definiendum.

explicate

verb to unfold; to make the meaning clear or easy to understand (verbalize, explain, make clear) The professor _______________ the poem to the class.

Stipulative or Lexical definition

★25. ''Aereomobile'' means a vehicle that is normally driven on the ground but that has the capability of flying through the air to avoid traffic congestion. See Collins dictionary