[MD] Metaphysical Baggage

[david buchanan]

Steve asked:
What do you mean by "proper use of terms"?



dmb says:
You cannot be serious.

If the dictionary defines one term as the opposite of the other and you use those terms as if they were equal to each other, for example, then you have misused the terms. You do that a lot. To say that indeterminism is a form of determinism is very like like saying cold is a form of hot. It's like saying up is a form of down. 

If the dictionary says free will is the ability to make choices but you say making choices has nothing to do with freewill, then you are misusing the terms "free will" and "choice". You do that a lot.

See, the thing is that language is a public property. It can't function without a certain level of stability of meaning. There is no such thing as your own private meaning. So if you want to communicate with other speakers of english, then you don't want to use terms improperly. You don't want to defy the dictionaries or encyclopedia if you want others to understand you, but you do that a lot anyway.

This is a very seriously failure, you know? Using words properly gives you power and freedom to express yourself, gives you the chance to find meaning in the words of others. As Pirsig says, definitions are the foundation of reason. You can't reason without them. It seems to me that most of your posts clearly demonstrate this assertion. I mean, there is a direct connection between the nonsense you produce and the way you constantly misuse the operative terms.