Hmm, yes relativity, rather slippery bit like Krimels uncertainty, once you have it , it became a certainty.
2010/10/5 david buchanan <[email protected]> > > > Marsha said: > RELATIVITY: > the tallest dwarf > meeting the smallest giant > - same size > > > > dmb says: > > No, that's not what relativity means. Relativity means there is no standard > by which to measure things like truth and moral values. > > What you have above is merely three sets of relations. > > The dwarf is tallest in relation to other dwarves. > The giant is the smallest when compared to other giants. > In relation to each other, the dwarf and the giant are the same size. > > As a practical matter, these relations do not depend on one's perspective > or worldview. It just depends on whether or not you can get all the dwarfs > and giants to stand next to a measuring tape. That's how you know you've got > the tallest dwarf in the first place. That's how you know all other giants > are bigger. These are quantifiable facts and all three sets of relations are > true at the same time without contradiction. The term "relative" can be used > to mean "in relation to" or "by comparison with" but that doesn't have > anything to do with the objectionable philosophical stance known as > relativism. If we say the dwarf is relatively tall, we don't mean his height > cannot be determined or that his height depends on one's understanding of > the term "tall". > > > Words and concepts are relational in a similar way. As I like to point out, > the meaning of the terms "static" and "dynamic" is relational in the sense > that "static" means the opposite of dynamic and "Dynamic" means the opposite > of static. The meaning of each term is depends on not being the other, the > same way hot and cold or short and tall define each other by opposition. > Words also derive their meaning by virtue of their relation to context in > which the term is being used. "Tall" can mean "highly exaggerated" when > we're talking about tales, it can refer to the shape of a cocktail glass > when talking to a bartender, it can mean "difficult" when we're talking > about tall orders and tall obstacles. It can refer to a proud posture or > walking style as well as actual height. Many words are very flexible and > have many different meanings depending on the context but again this is to > say that meaning is relational, not relative to the user. Words mean what > they mean in relation to oth > er words and in relation to the context in which it's being used. In other > words, we can't isolate the meaning of a term because it derives it's > meaning from the whole language system. This is the net of jewels idea > applied to words. Similarly, some philosophers talk about our "web" of > beliefs. This image get across the idea that some concepts are more central > than others, which is probably true. > > > Compared to the top of Mount Everest and the tallest short guy, the Empire > State Building is shorter and taller at the same time. These are not > relative truths or opposed claims or two different views. It's merely two > different comparisons, two different facts. The building is never going to > be taller than the mountain and it'll never be shorter than any person, not > even the tallest giant. I don't mean to be some kind of yard-stick > fundamentalist. I'm just saying that relations are just as real as anything > else and it's a part of what it means for something to be true and right. > This could be called relationalism or relationism or wholism or > contextualism or situationalism. But relativity or relativism is something > else entirely. It's the philosophical equivalent of combining halitosis with > leprosy. > > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org/md/archives.html > -- parser Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
