Cheerskep: I persist in quibbling about "when in doubt, spell it out". If
you're writing a play or a novel or arguing a case in court, you may want to
leave the conclusion in doubt until you feel the time is right. However, in
disciplined debate it's usually a good policy to be as clear as possible.
Well ... I would add that people like physicians don't need to call a spade
a god damn shovel. If bad news must be provided, there are more sensitive
ways of doing that - albeit I wouldn't approve of confusing a patient.
That being said: I doubt that there is much here about which we disagree.
Geoff C
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: gift/talent/aptitude/skill/ etc
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:19:02 EDT
Geoff writes (aptly, say I):
> My little quibble: if we are able, in social discourse, to employ
different
> words for the same thing, it can help to demonstrate that two speakers
are
> sharing the same meaning. If a single word is used, both
> speakers may believe (incorrectly, or not) that they share a common
> understanding of the term. If a second term is introduced any difference
in
> interpretation or usage can be identified.
>
The policy I urge is: When in doubt, spell it out. When you use a key term,
try to slip in somewhere a description of your notion behind it. And try to
convey what your notion is NOT. In my long still-not-sent draft posting to
Luc, I
try to convey why I think his notion of "consciousness" is different from
mine. In addressing Luc's "consciousness" I summon up a word that for me is
effectively synonymous: "awareness". As respectfully as I can, I try to
challenge
Luc to say he is not "aware of" sensations like a taste, a smell, a pain.
And
yet his position seems to be that we are not "conscious" of them.
I want to believe that very up-close pressure like this on a speaker's
words
and notions will help rinse away many misunderstandings. One of my guiding
principles is: get it down as close as possible to OBSERVATIONS we can
all
roughly recognize -- and use EXAMPLES. (It's a policy I've long urged on
Frances
Kelly -- to no avail.)
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