May 10 - 28, 2006
05.10.06
When we speak of the meaning of a word, we are using the word “meaning” in a very different way than we speak of the meaning of a sign. That is to say, that the word “meaning” has a different meaning in these different contexts.
This, I believe, is what easily and so often misleads we ‘philosophers’ when we philosophize. For example, compare the statements: “What is the meaning of life?”, “What is the meaning of a word?”, “What is the meaning of the word ‘meaning’?”, “What is the meaning of the word, ‘bedeutung’?”.
Hypothesis: I do not believe that which I know, because I know it, I do not believe it.
05.27.06
What has become obvious, for me at least, is that we do not have a very clear understanding of the meaning of the word, ‘meaning’. This demands an investigation - How do we use the word ‘meaning’?
Webster’s Dictionary: meaning n. 1. what is meant; what is intended to be, or in fact is, signified, indicated, referred to, or understood; signification, purport, import, sense, or significance [the meaning of a word.1 ] 2. [Archaic] intention; purpose adj. 1. that has meaning; significant; expressive 2. intending, having purpose - meaningly adv.
So the verbal definition, in a sense, gets us no further.
Wonderful! Here I have been provided with an entire host of related word-concepts: meaning, intention, signification, indication, reference, understanding, purpose, sense, significance. What then, are the relations between these different word-concepts?
What I am asking is “How is the word “meaning” used?”, or, more precisely, “What are some ways in which the word “meaning” is used?” I do not want to propose any theory of meaning, let alone a philosophical theory of meaning. I do not put forward a positive definition of “meaning”; I only show some examples of what I consider appropriate uses of the word and comment upon them, in the hopes of achieving a slightly better understanding of the concept “meaning.”
05.28.06
On the other hand, I am still not sure that appropriateness is the proper criterion for use.
When we speak of the meaning of a word, we are using the word “meaning” in a very different way than we speak of the meaning of a sign. That is to say, that the word “meaning” has a different meaning in these different contexts.
This, I believe, is what easily and so often misleads we ‘philosophers’ when we philosophize. For example, compare the statements: “What is the meaning of life?”, “What is the meaning of a word?”, “What is the meaning of the word ‘meaning’?”, “What is the meaning of the word, ‘bedeutung’?”.
Hypothesis: I do not believe that which I know, because I know it, I do not believe it.
05.27.06
What has become obvious, for me at least, is that we do not have a very clear understanding of the meaning of the word, ‘meaning’. This demands an investigation - How do we use the word ‘meaning’?
Webster’s Dictionary: meaning n. 1. what is meant; what is intended to be, or in fact is, signified, indicated, referred to, or understood; signification, purport, import, sense, or significance [the meaning of a word.1 ] 2. [Archaic] intention; purpose adj. 1. that has meaning; significant; expressive 2. intending, having purpose - meaningly adv.
So the verbal definition, in a sense, gets us no further.
Wonderful! Here I have been provided with an entire host of related word-concepts: meaning, intention, signification, indication, reference, understanding, purpose, sense, significance. What then, are the relations between these different word-concepts?
What I am asking is “How is the word “meaning” used?”, or, more precisely, “What are some ways in which the word “meaning” is used?” I do not want to propose any theory of meaning, let alone a philosophical theory of meaning. I do not put forward a positive definition of “meaning”; I only show some examples of what I consider appropriate uses of the word and comment upon them, in the hopes of achieving a slightly better understanding of the concept “meaning.”
05.28.06
On the other hand, I am still not sure that appropriateness is the proper criterion for use.
posted by Joel | 4:54 PM
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