• LUD1T3
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    21 year ago

    “words are defined by their use.”

    This, however, is debatable and highly contested by many in semantics. Although it does represent the most contemporary view.

    • @chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      11 year ago

      Well alright, you could consider them to be defined otherwise, but pragmatically you have to think about them that way if you want to effectively communicate with people, since they meant what they meant and you are able to know what they meant so pretending you thought they meant something different will just hold things up. If you don’t make a habit of arguing with people on the internet I guess that might be less of a concern.

      • LUD1T3
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        21 year ago

        “what they meant wasn’t to criticize your failure to provide reasoning, it was to dismiss your claim on the basis of its shape and to call you stupid.”

        ^^^
        Arguing with people like this is pointless. And endless.

        • @chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          Sometimes. It’s a spectrum; what people take seriously depends on their social environment, so you can get people who have absorbed arguments like that and maybe aren’t very rational but still are capable of listening and have worthwhile things to express.