[MD] The meaning of "meaning".

[david buchanan]

dmb said:

Well, no. If you check the archives you'll see that you had posed a more specific question about the meaning of "meaning"....


Steve replied:
Perhaps, but this was a response to Craig rather than to you, you narcissistic asshole. Why does every conversation you have on this discussion group always turn into an argument about what the hell it was you were arguing about? I think it is because your worst fear about yourself is actually true. You really are an intellectual fraud.

dmb says:
Well, no. If you check your own post you'll see that you were responding to my argument and Craig's comments about it. I mean, if you're quoting me and disputing, how am I a narcissist asshole for replying? Dude, this grudge you're holding is making you nuttier and nuttier with each reply. You have absolutely no reason to be angry, let alone spew profanity-laced insults.

It's not my fault if you can't remember what you said or did yesterday or earlier this morning. This is how it went...
--------------------------------------------------------------On Sun, Jun 26, 2011 at 8:03 AM, Steven Peterson <peterson.steve at gmail.com> wrote:On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 1:50 AM,  <craigerb at comcast.net> wrote:[dmb] To ask about the "meaning" of life in the first sense is to ask for the definition of the term "life". To ask about the "meaning" of life in the second sense is to ask about the nature of human existence.
[Craig] It's not just the word 'meaning' that has 2 senses in the above, but also the word 'life'. The use/mention distinction is fundamental to philosophy, e.g.: Life has 4 stages. 'Life' has 4 letters.

[Steve] Right, and obviously I wasn't referring to the meaning of the word "life." I was discussing the meaning of life. In pragmatic terms, "what does life mean?" cashes out to "how is life used?" Obviously life is used in lots of ways. Some good and some bad. The intent of someone asking the original question is then likely more clearly stated as "how ought life be used so as to be a good life?" That is,unless someone presupposes that life has some externally imposed purpose in which case the question amounts to "why was life created?", but that is a question that anyone who does not believe in a great nonhuman power with intents and purposes does not have. -----------------------------------------------------------------

dmb continues:
The comments I had made about the two senses of the word "meaning" were made in response to your question about the meaning of meaning. I was reminding you of the context of my comment, the one quoted by Craig and included by you. Do you think it would be reasonable to conclude that your post had nothing to do with my argument? Well, okay. But if that's true, then anyone who's ever replied to a post in which they are named or quoted is a narcissistic asshole. 
The irony is that narcissists do exactly what you're doing when faced with criticism, either real or perceived. They flip out for no good and and get real mean. It's called narcissistic rage. Wiki has a page on it if you're interested.