What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by h_k_s »

Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 1st, 2020, 11:02 pm I got into a discussion where we ended up with some circular definitions. One of the questions was whether certain words, like "meaningful" and "relevant" were wholly subjective or whether they might have objective meanings.

The objective definition of "meaningful" would depend upon an objective definition of "meaning". And as I thought about this, a weird notion popped up:

The source of meaning is consequence. The meaning of a thing is the consequence(s) of the thing.

If the consequences are subjective, then the meaning is subjective. But if the consequences are objective, then the meaning is objective.

We usually equate the meaning of a word with its definition. The definition is inductively derived by the use of the word in speech. How does the word operate in speech? Is it a verb indicating some action? Then the consequence of the word is to convey the notion of that action, in some context, to someone else. Is the word a noun? Then the consequence of the word is to recall that person or thing to someone's mind. The definition of the word is the notion being conveyed, and the meaning of the word is the consequences of conveying that notion.

So, when we use the word "meaningful" regarding some notion, we mean that the notion has some significant consequence of particular relevance to us and our lives.
One must always be cautious to discover and note "circular definitions," known also as the fallacy of affirmation of the consequent.
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 11:21 am The notion of cause and effect organizes events in a useful way. It pairs two related events, event1 as the cause and event2 as the effect. Then we move up one event and event2 becomes the cause and event3 becomes the effect.
This rankles, although I find it difficult to say exactly why. We all know that everything is connected to everything else. It's one of those truisms that we all know of, but is not especially useful. You can extrapolate the universe from a piece of fairy cake, as the Great Man wrote, but how is this useful? It's easier to see from the other end: no part of the universe, no matter how small, exists in isolation. Everything is connected to everything else, in a huge network of associations. Gravity is one type of association. Every part of the universe that has mass is attracted to every other part that also has mass. Moving one tiny piece changes the whole, universe-wide, network of gravitational attraction. Cause and effect is another type of association. But I think it's one of very, very, many such types of association.

So I don't disagree with your idea about causality, in this context, but I can't see how it's only about causation. And as for every effect carrying on to become a cause, well, it is surely possible, but can it really apply to every effect? I think not. Then there are multiple causes, and multiple effects, to consider. I just think the picture is more complicated than you're painting it. My own feeling is that this is not a great way to elucidate meaning. But I've been wrong before.... 😉
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

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h_k_s wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 5:03 pm
Pattern-chaser wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 9:24 am

Taking cause and effect - another thorny topic 😉 - as an example, we can see that causes have consequences - their effects - while effects might not. Your idea seems to apply only to causes?




That seems more like it. Meaning is something we ascribe to certain things.

It is true that all parts of the universe (i.e. Everything) are connected (or associated with) all other parts, but I think it's a gross and unjustifiable over-simplification to assume that all these parts can be seen either as causes or effects. When all those many types of associations are considered, it seems unlikely that they all reduce to two such simple descriptions: cause and effect.
@Pattern-chaser , I like your isolation and identification of "cause and effect."
Thank you. 😊 I think I expanded a bit on this here:
Pattern-chaser wrote: May 3rd, 2020, 8:58 am ...We all know that everything is connected to everything else. It's one of those truisms that we all know of, but is not especially useful. You can extrapolate the universe from a piece of fairy cake, as the Great Man wrote, but how is this useful? It's easier to see from the other end: no part of the universe, no matter how small, exists in isolation. Everything is connected to everything else, in a huge network of associations. Gravity is one type of association. Every part of the universe that has mass is attracted to every other part that also has mass. Moving one tiny piece changes the whole, universe-wide, network of gravitational attraction. Cause and effect is another type of association. But I think it's one of very, very, many such types of association.

Pattern-chaser wrote: May 3rd, 2020, 8:58 am But I've been wrong before.... 😉
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Marvin_Edwards »

Pattern-chaser wrote: May 3rd, 2020, 8:58 am
Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 11:21 am The notion of cause and effect organizes events in a useful way. It pairs two related events, event1 as the cause and event2 as the effect. Then we move up one event and event2 becomes the cause and event3 becomes the effect.
This rankles, although I find it difficult to say exactly why. We all know that everything is connected to everything else. It's one of those truisms that we all know of, but is not especially useful. You can extrapolate the universe from a piece of fairy cake, as the Great Man wrote, but how is this useful? It's easier to see from the other end: no part of the universe, no matter how small, exists in isolation. Everything is connected to everything else, in a huge network of associations. Gravity is one type of association. Every part of the universe that has mass is attracted to every other part that also has mass. Moving one tiny piece changes the whole, universe-wide, network of gravitational attraction. Cause and effect is another type of association. But I think it's one of very, very, many such types of association.

So I don't disagree with your idea about causality, in this context, but I can't see how it's only about causation. And as for every effect carrying on to become a cause, well, it is surely possible, but can it really apply to every effect? I think not. Then there are multiple causes, and multiple effects, to consider. I just think the picture is more complicated than you're painting it. My own feeling is that this is not a great way to elucidate meaning. But I've been wrong before.... 😉
I think the key is this: ALL of the utility of the notion of reliable causation comes from knowing the specific causes of specific effects. Knowing that the coronavirus is the cause of the respiratory disease, and knowing that the body's immune system can be primed to attack that virus by vaccination, gives us hope that soon we will have a vaccine that will effectively eliminate the effects of the coronavirus in the near future. If the cause were unknown or unknowable, then we'd probably be sacrificing virgins to the local deity.

But the notion of universal causal necessity/inevitability tells us nothing useful. It has no practical implications for any real-life scenarios. It makes no meaningful distinction between any two events. When we have a decision to make, the only help it can give us is "Well, I don't know what you will decide, but whatever you decide will be inevitable." Totally useless.

The notion that it can make us more compassionate and just is misguided. If inevitability excuses the thief who stole your wallet, then it also excuses the judge who cuts off the thief's hand.
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Marvin_Edwards »

h_k_s wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 5:01 pm
Well, for philosophical inquiry purposes, you must begin somewhere.

While Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, together with the rest of the ancient and pre-Descartes world never really questioned this notion of beginnings, it was Rene Descartes himself who in 1637 in his writing of "Descourse on the Method," he posits "cogito ergo sum."

Thus, the "meaning of a thing" is its existence, not just its "consequence."
And the meaning of Rene Descartes is all of his consequences, one of which was the notion "I think, therefore I am".
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

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Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 3rd, 2020, 10:55 am I think the key is this: ALL of the utility of the notion of reliable causation comes from knowing the specific causes of specific effects. Knowing that the coronavirus is the cause of the respiratory disease, and knowing that the body's immune system can be primed to attack that virus by vaccination, gives us hope that soon we will have a vaccine that will effectively eliminate the effects of the coronavirus in the near future. If the cause were unknown or unknowable, then we'd probably be sacrificing virgins to the local deity.

But the notion of universal causal necessity/inevitability tells us nothing useful. It has no practical implications for any real-life scenarios. It makes no meaningful distinction between any two events. When we have a decision to make, the only help it can give us is "Well, I don't know what you will decide, but whatever you decide will be inevitable." Totally useless.

The notion that it can make us more compassionate and just is misguided. If inevitability excuses the thief who stole your wallet, then it also excuses the judge who cuts off the thief's hand.
You started this topic to discuss the meaning of meaning, but now it seems that your aim is to discuss causation and "inevitability". Fair enough; there's nothing wrong with discussing these things. But is it the meaning of meaning we're aiming at, or...? 🤔
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Marvin_Edwards »

Pattern-chaser wrote: May 4th, 2020, 9:30 am
Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 3rd, 2020, 10:55 am I think the key is this: ALL of the utility of the notion of reliable causation comes from knowing the specific causes of specific effects. Knowing that the coronavirus is the cause of the respiratory disease, and knowing that the body's immune system can be primed to attack that virus by vaccination, gives us hope that soon we will have a vaccine that will effectively eliminate the effects of the coronavirus in the near future. If the cause were unknown or unknowable, then we'd probably be sacrificing virgins to the local deity.

But the notion of universal causal necessity/inevitability tells us nothing useful. It has no practical implications for any real-life scenarios. It makes no meaningful distinction between any two events. When we have a decision to make, the only help it can give us is "Well, I don't know what you will decide, but whatever you decide will be inevitable." Totally useless.

The notion that it can make us more compassionate and just is misguided. If inevitability excuses the thief who stole your wallet, then it also excuses the judge who cuts off the thief's hand.
You started this topic to discuss the meaning of meaning, but now it seems that your aim is to discuss causation and "inevitability". Fair enough; there's nothing wrong with discussing these things. But is it the meaning of meaning we're aiming at, or...? 🤔
We can discuss anything you want, of course. But you introduced the topic into the thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16736#p356918

And you did it with a wink 😉

In any case, universal causal necessity/inevitably has no meaning, because it has no practical consequences.
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

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On my view, by the way, meaning is the mental act of making an association, so that x brings to mind y. Meaning isn't y, it's the "bringing to mind," associative part. Y would be a definition, extension (denotation) or intension (connotation).

Contra Putnam, I say, "Cut the pie any way you like; meanings only occur in the head."
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by h_k_s »

Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 4th, 2020, 7:04 am
h_k_s wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 5:01 pm
Well, for philosophical inquiry purposes, you must begin somewhere.

While Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, together with the rest of the ancient and pre-Descartes world never really questioned this notion of beginnings, it was Rene Descartes himself who in 1637 in his writing of "Descourse on the Method," he posits "cogito ergo sum."

Thus, the "meaning of a thing" is its existence, not just its "consequence."
And the meaning of Rene Descartes is all of his consequences, one of which was the notion "I think, therefore I am".
"Cogito ergo sum" is Descartes seminal monumental contribution to epistemology and philosophy, yes, true.
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

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Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 4th, 2020, 10:07 am
Pattern-chaser wrote: May 4th, 2020, 9:30 am

You started this topic to discuss the meaning of meaning, but now it seems that your aim is to discuss causation and "inevitability". Fair enough; there's nothing wrong with discussing these things. But is it the meaning of meaning we're aiming at, or...? 🤔
We can discuss anything you want, of course. But you introduced the topic into the thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16736#p356918

And you did it with a wink 😉
Not quite. Look:
Pattern-chaser wrote: May 2nd, 2020, 9:24 am Taking cause and effect - another thorny topic 😉 - as an example...
The wink only acknowledged that causality is a difficult subject, and my comment 'introduced' causality as an example only. I anticipated that there were/are many such examples, of which causality is but one. I merely observed that, while causes might well have consequences, as you describe, their effects might not. This seems to muddle your idea that "The meaning of a thing is the consequence(s) of the thing". Do things that have no consequence(s) also have no meaning?

So, is it causality, or is it the meaning of meaning? 😉
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Marvin_Edwards »

Pattern-chaser wrote: May 5th, 2020, 7:47 am I merely observed that, while causes might well have consequences, as you describe, their effects might not. This seems to muddle your idea that "The meaning of a thing is the consequence(s) of the thing". Do things that have no consequence(s) also have no meaning?
Effects are consequences by definition. The effect is what the cause means.

And yes, things that have no consequences would have no meaning.
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Terrapin Station »

Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 5th, 2020, 9:32 am
Pattern-chaser wrote: May 5th, 2020, 7:47 am I merely observed that, while causes might well have consequences, as you describe, their effects might not. This seems to muddle your idea that "The meaning of a thing is the consequence(s) of the thing". Do things that have no consequence(s) also have no meaning?
Effects are consequences by definition. The effect is what the cause means.

And yes, things that have no consequences would have no meaning.
On your view, part of the meaning of a piece of music, say, might be to make someone deaf (If the music is loud enough, for example)?

And we could say that the meaning of most pieces of music include to make people disgusted, to make people elated, etc.? (Since most music has that gamut of reactions from people--different people have different tastes)
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Benj96 »

The meaning of "meaning" for me depends on if you want a definition removed from linguistics and subjectivity (an objective universal sense of the word) or the typical subjective and lexical sense... but generally... anything from which can be derived some information, concept or perception. If you can attain information from something be it strictly in a sense of physical interactions, energy exchanges or change then it has universal meaning.
Why? Because contrast "defines". Without contrasting events or opposites there is no change. If everything is white it cannot be called white until there is some black or other colour to differentiate it into two qualifiable things. For example ... meaning in the universe is exemplified by fundamental laws for example "equal", "opposite", "charged", "reaction" , "motion" "entropy" "reverse" etc ...all of which are repeatable and stable qualities of the universe that governs how it behaves. They have meaning because they permit change and alterations in information and value. If a phenomenon changes too fast you cannot define it because it is so different than it was a second ago. If something never changes at all you also cannot define it because you cant be aware of it. No information is provided for registration of the thing or event. They may as well be the same. But if something changes in the middle of the spectrum and at a certain rate then it can have meaning because meaning requires stability but also change. We call this a "dynamic equilibrium". If an atom no longer looks or behaves like an atom how can you still call it an atom it would be meaningless. So meaning in the universe is proportional to the time for which a phenomenon remains constant with most meaning in the middle and least at both extremes. This is why energy and mass are so difficult to actually define without just equating them to eachother 😂. Check out how heisenbergs uncertainty principle can be used as a basis for linguistics and meaning permanence as well as the role of adverbs of probability and verb tenses and you will be shocked by its effectiveness at describing the function of language.
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 5th, 2020, 9:32 am Effects are consequences by definition.
You miss the point. Effects are consequences, in this example, I agree. But do effects have consequences? That was my question. You said before that effects become causes, and thereby have consequences conferred upon them, but it is not clear that all effects become causes in their own right. So some effects are meaningless, in your opinion? And maybe some other sorts/types of events too? I don't think defining meaning by consequences works very well. ... Not that I'm aware of a better way to define meaning, you understand. 😳
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Re: What is the Meaning of "Meaning"?

Post by Marvin_Edwards »

Terrapin Station wrote: May 5th, 2020, 9:42 am
Marvin_Edwards wrote: May 5th, 2020, 9:32 am

Effects are consequences by definition. The effect is what the cause means.

And yes, things that have no consequences would have no meaning.
On your view, part of the meaning of a piece of music, say, might be to make someone deaf (If the music is loud enough, for example)?

And we could say that the meaning of most pieces of music include to make people disgusted, to make people elated, etc.? (Since most music has that gamut of reactions from people--different people have different tastes)
Yeah. That would be a subjective consequence.
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