Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA28472 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 21 Mar 2002 20:23:55 GMT Message-ID: <000f01c1d116$c5f46b20$a9a8eb3e@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <kennethvanoost@myrealbox.com> References: <5FEF639E-39E0-11D6-A6BE-003065B9A95A@harvard.edu> Subject: Re: FW: MD Dawkins on quantum/mysticism convergence Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 21:26:24 +0100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Wade T.Smith <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
> On Sunday, March 17, 2002, at 02:28 , Grant Callaghan wrote:
> > You may not like what they were trying to do, but what has that got to
> > do with observing the way words are used?
>
> Didn't remark upon my likes or dislikes, but, about the way words were
> being used. To intentionally befuddle and swindle.
Hi all,
Picked the post of Wade out of the many to get this across,
Reading the posts about this thread it seems to me there are two sides
with a different saying about the way words are used, and accordingly
so, there meaning.
Just reading a magazine, I came across the idea of ' Twin- Earth ' by
Hilary Putman. Can 't the list- mem(e)bers use that thought- experiment
to settle their argument !?
After all, he writes that we all learn to use a word in a particular
context, that
once the meaning of a word is connected with its " reference ", than is its
meaning fixed, water becomes H2O so to speak.
The simple man in the street knows the stereotypical aspects of water, but
we need scientists to give us the essence of water...
Meaning, the ' meaning ' of words is determinated by the context wherein
we learned to use them. You can 't determine the meaning just by yourself.
The reference of ' water ' is fixed by the context wherein you have learned
to use the word. We are not in control over the meaning of our words.
( Although, a vague memory tells me something about two twinsisters
who developed a language on their own....)
Trying to help,
Regards,
Kenneth,
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