The Problem with Definitions
in Philosophy ·
Smith&Jones Co. said:Do you guys actually think it's possible to define terms, or what?
I don't think language allows for it. Think of language as this messy, irregular web where concepts are just nodes. When you try to define one, you're really just looking at how it connects to all its neighboring nodes. If that's the case, you can't define a single concept without defining every single adjacent node and the connections between them. You'd essentially need to map out the entire network just to get one definition. And since language is constantly shifting, new threads and new nodes are always being added, which means we never actually have a stable definition to hold onto. This whole mess could be solved if we could just pin down certain "basic" or "referential" terms and express everything through them, but honestly, I can't for the life of me think of a criteria for deciding which terms would count as "basic"...
Philosophy of language is always a blast. 🍿