Difference between revisions of "Definition"
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A '''definition''' is a meaning that uses a word or a phrase to mark off the conceptual limits of what a thing is. | A '''definition''' is a meaning that uses a word or a phrase to mark off the conceptual limits of what a thing is. | ||
| − | A definition of a name (''definitio nominis'') sets a clear value for a [[ | + | A definition of a name (''definitio nominis'') sets a clear value for a [[word]] or [[phrase]] so that the parties involved will definitely know what that word/phrase means when they talk about the word/phrase. It is a common establishment not only in [[language]], but also in [[logic]] and [[mathematics]]. For example, ''I call soul that which is the principle of thought within us''. |
A definition of a thing (''definitio rei'') is the maintenance that other ideas are contained in a certain term (assuming common usage) referring to a thing. For example, ''Man is a rational animal''.<ref name=p78>Arnauld, Antoine (1662). ''Logic or the Art of Thinking: Being The Port Royal Logic''. Ed. and trans. T. S. Baynes. London: W. Blackwood, 1850 (''La logique ou l'art de penser; contenant outre les règles communes, plusieurs observations nouvelles, propres à former le jugement'', Paris), pp. 78-9.</ref> | A definition of a thing (''definitio rei'') is the maintenance that other ideas are contained in a certain term (assuming common usage) referring to a thing. For example, ''Man is a rational animal''.<ref name=p78>Arnauld, Antoine (1662). ''Logic or the Art of Thinking: Being The Port Royal Logic''. Ed. and trans. T. S. Baynes. London: W. Blackwood, 1850 (''La logique ou l'art de penser; contenant outre les règles communes, plusieurs observations nouvelles, propres à former le jugement'', Paris), pp. 78-9.</ref> | ||
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A definition of a name is ''arbitrary''; it can choose one narrower definition of a word extracted from a broader commonly used definition, assign a word an analogous meaning, give a word an entirely new meaning, or even apply itself to an entirely new word. The ideas employed in a definition of a thing on the other hand are not arbitrary but must apply themselves to comprehending their object and to the extent that they fail to do so, they must be redetermined.<ref name=p78/> | A definition of a name is ''arbitrary''; it can choose one narrower definition of a word extracted from a broader commonly used definition, assign a word an analogous meaning, give a word an entirely new meaning, or even apply itself to an entirely new word. The ideas employed in a definition of a thing on the other hand are not arbitrary but must apply themselves to comprehending their object and to the extent that they fail to do so, they must be redetermined.<ref name=p78/> | ||
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| + | ==Academic and Technical Definitions== | ||
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| + | Many words have multiple definitions of similar connotation, such as [[line]].<ref>''Merriam-Webster's Third International Dictionary''. 1960.</ref> A line can refer to a finite group of people in a row or a stripe of paint along the highway,<ref>''The American College Dictionary.'' Random House. New York, 1956</ref> but in geometry, it refers strictly to an infinite mass of one dimension which can exist in other dimensions.<ref>"1.2: Points, Lines, and Planes." Beauty, Rigor, Surprise.</ref> The definition in geometry would be its academic definition. | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 18:55, May 8, 2017
A definition is a meaning that uses a word or a phrase to mark off the conceptual limits of what a thing is.
A definition of a name (definitio nominis) sets a clear value for a word or phrase so that the parties involved will definitely know what that word/phrase means when they talk about the word/phrase. It is a common establishment not only in language, but also in logic and mathematics. For example, I call soul that which is the principle of thought within us.
A definition of a thing (definitio rei) is the maintenance that other ideas are contained in a certain term (assuming common usage) referring to a thing. For example, Man is a rational animal.[1]
A dictionary definition is an explanation of that which a word signifies, according to the word's common usage or its etymology.[1]
A definition of a name is arbitrary; it can choose one narrower definition of a word extracted from a broader commonly used definition, assign a word an analogous meaning, give a word an entirely new meaning, or even apply itself to an entirely new word. The ideas employed in a definition of a thing on the other hand are not arbitrary but must apply themselves to comprehending their object and to the extent that they fail to do so, they must be redetermined.[1]
Academic and Technical Definitions
Many words have multiple definitions of similar connotation, such as line.[2] A line can refer to a finite group of people in a row or a stripe of paint along the highway,[3] but in geometry, it refers strictly to an infinite mass of one dimension which can exist in other dimensions.[4] The definition in geometry would be its academic definition.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Arnauld, Antoine (1662). Logic or the Art of Thinking: Being The Port Royal Logic. Ed. and trans. T. S. Baynes. London: W. Blackwood, 1850 (La logique ou l'art de penser; contenant outre les règles communes, plusieurs observations nouvelles, propres à former le jugement, Paris), pp. 78-9.
- ↑ Merriam-Webster's Third International Dictionary. 1960.
- ↑ The American College Dictionary. Random House. New York, 1956
- ↑ "1.2: Points, Lines, and Planes." Beauty, Rigor, Surprise.
