Semantics: a coursebook, second edition
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Feedback (1) Yes (2) Yes (3) Yes (4) No Comment The idea of de fining predicates by sets of necessary and sufficient conditions can be evaluated from a practical point of view. The parallel with the undecidability of extensions is very close. Just as in a large number of cases it is implausible to postulate the existence of perfectly clearly de fined sets of things, such as the set of all cats, the set of all tables, etc., so too the idea that there could be satisfactory de finitions in the form of sets of necessary and su fficient conditions for such predicates as cat, table, etc. is clearly misguided. One of the best-known arguments (by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein) against the idea that de finitions of the meanings of words can be given in the form of sets of necessary and su fficient conditions involves the word game. Practice Given below are two de finitions of the word game, taken from dictionaries of modern English. For each de finition, give, if possible, (a) the name of at least one game (e.g. football, chess) not covered by the de finition, and (b) at least one thing that is not a game (e.g. piano-playing, watching television) but which falls within the given de finition. (1) An amusement or diversion (a) ............................................... (b) ............................................... (2) A contest, physical or mental, according to set rules, undertaken for amusement or for a stake (a) ............................................... (b) ............................................... U N I T 9 Sense properties and stereotypes 101 Feedback (1) (a) We can think of no examples of games which are not amusements or diversions. (b) piano-playing, watching television, fishing, embroidery (2) (a) cat’s-cradle (not a contest), patience or solitaire (also not contests, except in a vacuous sense) (b) a 100-metre footrace, high-jump, pole-vault (such events are not normally called ‘games’ but rather ‘races’, ‘contests’, or ‘competitions’), musical competitions Comment Wittgenstein’s example of game cuts both ways. On the one hand, one must admit that a set of necessary and su fficient conditions for game to cover all eventualities (including games played in the past and games yet to be invented) cannot be given. On the other hand, one has to admit that some of the de finitions offered by dictionaries, while imperfect, do cover a large number of cases, and are in fact helpful. It is possible to give at least some necessary and/or su fficient conditions for all predicates in a language. If there were a predicate for which we could give no necessary or su fficient condition, we would have to admit that we literally had no idea what it meant. Practice (1) Is the sense of activity a necessary part of the sense of game (i.e. must something be an activity to be a game)? Yes / No (2) Is the sense of game a necessary part of the sense of tennis (i.e. must some activity be a game to be tennis)? Yes / No (3) Is the sense of chess a su fficient part of the sense of game (i.e. is the fact that something is chess su fficient evidence to call it a game)? Yes / No (4) A witty literary lady coined the memorable sentence, A rose is a rose is a rose, implying that de finition could go no further. One can actually go at least a little further. Is the sense of flower a necessary part of the sense of rose? tải về 1.74 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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