Linguistics Categorization

Vegetables vs Fruits

Bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, avocados, and squashes are botanically fruits because they develop from the ovaries of plants. Fruit has a technical botanical meaning but also a practical/cultural meaning. Is tomato a fruit? It's relative.

Yes and no with categorizations

Broken cell phone example, suggesting that categorizations don't have to be a yes or no thing, it can be a little of both. Sometimes it depends on the context

Naming/Classifying

Class is a group of things grouped together in an ideal sphere with limits that we define that we give certain names. When classifying, we emphasize some things and ignore others. They are based on shared attributes. Categories simplify complexities. When thinking through metaphysics, however, its useful to assume the truism that no two things are the same, which means you can find similarities and differences between any two things. Things could be identical in terms of fucntion, form, etc but they aren;t the same. Saying that they are identical is to obscure a difference.

Cultural Knowledge

Cultural knowledge is contained in the mind of the participants. Knowledge is contained in categories and defined/identified with words. Categories as building blocks of culture. They are conceptual-abstract things in our head that affect us.

Cheyenne Ornithology

Flying creatures order is separated into sacred birds, great birds, and ordinary birds. In science we recognize that animals that interbreed with one another and produce fertile, viable offspring are one species. They categories birds based off of color of feathers instead. They recognize tornadoes, dragonflies, and butterflies as "holy birds." This is because their categories are not the same as ours, since there's is flying creatures bigger than an insect.

Nuts

In botanical world, a nut is a dry, hard-shelled fruit. Almonds have fleshy outer layer, making it not a nut, neither is pistachio and walnut. Peanuts aren't nuts, but sunflower seeds and acorns are.

Scientific View of Colors

Light waves have peaks and visible light is a narrow spectrum of peaks and valleys. Depending on the shape of these waves, it will effect the eye differently. Reflected light gives the appearance of color. The colors on the spectrum blend into one another without starting and stopping definitely. The human eye can distinguish 10 million colors (difficult to discern though) Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis causes us to see in different colors.

Meaning in Categoriztion

Meaning/symbols are made up of a series of categories in order to organize the world around us and type available data. Language defines/labels the categories, and meaning is manipulating the categories. Our view of reality comes from the categories we see and what we pay attention to. Color is one thing we categorize

Eagles

Only 2 species of eagle in north america but not for native peoples. They have 7 eagles and one 1 buzzard because of what they choose to categorize. They are looking at feather colors instead of breeding. Eagles have a closer relationship with the supernatural and feather colors change with new markings as they become better eagles. Those feathers become significant during ceremonies. Birds are arranged according to symbolic importance of functionality (healing, power, etc.) rather than reproductive significance.

Opinions

Opinions really are indicating preference that's personal. Helpful to know what purpose something is used for--what's the context. Is a smile universal? A smile at the wrong time could get you killed, so it depends on the context. Structural coupling is how we learn these things we think are universal. What makes opinions separated from non-opinions, it's a matter of value judgments. Values can drive your actions. It's all relative--in what way?

Relativity

Relativity is a huge part of classification. It is structural coupling between our brains and whatever exists outside of our heads. Color can be seen both subjectively and relatively--what do cultures pay attention to when they see colors vs what is adaptive? Patterns of interaction while language is framing those consistent problems. It's better to say that something is relative than "in our culture it is" because it includes your definition of something as a priority. Depends on context, culture, and point of view is another good way to say a similar thing.

Other animal classification

Similar to way beavers were more common than fish so they were called fish so that they could be eaten during Lent. Platypus didn't fit into categories so it was rejected. In Bible, bats listed as birds that were unclean. We don't have a word for flying creatures larger than insects that the Hebrews do, so we translate it as birds. Nesher means to tear with beak, so it would be translated the same as a buzzard or eagle. Hebrew--dove and pigeon mean the same thing.

Culture and Categorization

There won't ever be anything you can't identify. Are there any natural/recognizable categories? They are in the end all constructed. Culture is a system of knowledge that structures our everyday living. It directs us to think and see the world in a particular way, and then we come to believe that this way is natural and human when it's not. Other groups experience other reals.

Categories and knowledge

You don't even know to look for something unless you have a pre-determined category for that thing.How many colors are there, for example? It depends on the culture and context. God created the planets, but we classify the, based on our own perceptions of similarities and differences. We don't recognize these classifications, we impose them. recognizing means its naturally out there, but imposing means that we construct a definition of them.