'denote' vs 'mean' vs 'signify'
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This post involves only the bolded meaning, from: What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. p. 166 Middle.
Consider the various dictionary meanings of 'to mean'. One such meaning is what a thing is intended for. A cake is meant to be eaten, because it was created with that intention. But if life is just a product of the natural world, such talk of intention is here inappropriate, for life is not the kind of thing that can be intended for anything.
We can also 'mean' to do something in the sense of intend to do it. So I meant to call you, but forgot, for example. But again, life cannot mean in this way, only people can. In the same way, you can say that a person 'means well', but life means neither well nor ill.
'To mean' can also be 'to signify', so that a word 'has a meaning' or a red circular road sign with a thick white horizontal band in the middle 'means' stop. But again, this is not the kind of meaning life can have: life doesn't signify anything.
In the context of semantic signification, does 'mean' = 'signify'? If not, how do they differ?
How does 'denote' differ from: 'signify'? 'mean'?
Without losing meaning, can 'mean' be flawlessly swapped with 'denote' or 'signify' if I ask about what:
HLA Hart meant by 'a suggestive account of adjudication' being 'a description of what occurs even if what is described is evaluative in substance'?
Jerome Frank meant by 'a bridge of rationalizations'?
Lord Bingham meant by “Consistency can be the enemy of judgment”?
differences
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
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up vote
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This post involves only the bolded meaning, from: What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. p. 166 Middle.
Consider the various dictionary meanings of 'to mean'. One such meaning is what a thing is intended for. A cake is meant to be eaten, because it was created with that intention. But if life is just a product of the natural world, such talk of intention is here inappropriate, for life is not the kind of thing that can be intended for anything.
We can also 'mean' to do something in the sense of intend to do it. So I meant to call you, but forgot, for example. But again, life cannot mean in this way, only people can. In the same way, you can say that a person 'means well', but life means neither well nor ill.
'To mean' can also be 'to signify', so that a word 'has a meaning' or a red circular road sign with a thick white horizontal band in the middle 'means' stop. But again, this is not the kind of meaning life can have: life doesn't signify anything.
In the context of semantic signification, does 'mean' = 'signify'? If not, how do they differ?
How does 'denote' differ from: 'signify'? 'mean'?
Without losing meaning, can 'mean' be flawlessly swapped with 'denote' or 'signify' if I ask about what:
HLA Hart meant by 'a suggestive account of adjudication' being 'a description of what occurs even if what is described is evaluative in substance'?
Jerome Frank meant by 'a bridge of rationalizations'?
Lord Bingham meant by “Consistency can be the enemy of judgment”?
differences
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
1
It is rather unclear what is being asked here. What exactly is meant by ‘the context of semantic signification’ in the first question? Is the first question a request for an explanation of the quoted passage (which seems quite clear and unproblematic), or an attempt to challenge it? What do the second and the third question have to do with the quoted passage, which does not use the word denote?
– jsw29
Mar 24 at 21:25
@jsw29 Sorry for the perplexity. Please edit my post. I answer in your order of questions. 'Semantic meaning'; I used 'signification' to refer to the bolded (sub)meaning of 'meaning' to dodge using 'meaning' in two senses like this. I was no more than checking the author's statement. You're right that questions 2 and 3 aren't related to the passage...I'm contrasting 'mean = signify' vs 'denote'.
– Greek - Area 51 Proposal
Mar 25 at 0:21
It seems self-evident that mean sometimes means signify; it is not clear what about the boldened statement in the quotation is in need of an explanation (even though it appears in a philosophical context, it is not itself a controversial philosophical thesis). As for denote, it is usually treated as a counterpart of connote, and both are treated as aspects of meaning; the precise relationships of the three concepts may differ subtly from one theoretical context to another.
– jsw29
Mar 25 at 16:33
add a comment |
up vote
-1
down vote
favorite
up vote
-1
down vote
favorite
This post involves only the bolded meaning, from: What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. p. 166 Middle.
Consider the various dictionary meanings of 'to mean'. One such meaning is what a thing is intended for. A cake is meant to be eaten, because it was created with that intention. But if life is just a product of the natural world, such talk of intention is here inappropriate, for life is not the kind of thing that can be intended for anything.
We can also 'mean' to do something in the sense of intend to do it. So I meant to call you, but forgot, for example. But again, life cannot mean in this way, only people can. In the same way, you can say that a person 'means well', but life means neither well nor ill.
'To mean' can also be 'to signify', so that a word 'has a meaning' or a red circular road sign with a thick white horizontal band in the middle 'means' stop. But again, this is not the kind of meaning life can have: life doesn't signify anything.
In the context of semantic signification, does 'mean' = 'signify'? If not, how do they differ?
How does 'denote' differ from: 'signify'? 'mean'?
Without losing meaning, can 'mean' be flawlessly swapped with 'denote' or 'signify' if I ask about what:
HLA Hart meant by 'a suggestive account of adjudication' being 'a description of what occurs even if what is described is evaluative in substance'?
Jerome Frank meant by 'a bridge of rationalizations'?
Lord Bingham meant by “Consistency can be the enemy of judgment”?
differences
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
This post involves only the bolded meaning, from: What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. p. 166 Middle.
Consider the various dictionary meanings of 'to mean'. One such meaning is what a thing is intended for. A cake is meant to be eaten, because it was created with that intention. But if life is just a product of the natural world, such talk of intention is here inappropriate, for life is not the kind of thing that can be intended for anything.
We can also 'mean' to do something in the sense of intend to do it. So I meant to call you, but forgot, for example. But again, life cannot mean in this way, only people can. In the same way, you can say that a person 'means well', but life means neither well nor ill.
'To mean' can also be 'to signify', so that a word 'has a meaning' or a red circular road sign with a thick white horizontal band in the middle 'means' stop. But again, this is not the kind of meaning life can have: life doesn't signify anything.
In the context of semantic signification, does 'mean' = 'signify'? If not, how do they differ?
How does 'denote' differ from: 'signify'? 'mean'?
Without losing meaning, can 'mean' be flawlessly swapped with 'denote' or 'signify' if I ask about what:
HLA Hart meant by 'a suggestive account of adjudication' being 'a description of what occurs even if what is described is evaluative in substance'?
Jerome Frank meant by 'a bridge of rationalizations'?
Lord Bingham meant by “Consistency can be the enemy of judgment”?
differences
differences
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
edited Mar 24 at 4:20
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
asked Mar 20 at 6:01
Greek - Area 51 Proposal
4,04084087
4,04084087
1
It is rather unclear what is being asked here. What exactly is meant by ‘the context of semantic signification’ in the first question? Is the first question a request for an explanation of the quoted passage (which seems quite clear and unproblematic), or an attempt to challenge it? What do the second and the third question have to do with the quoted passage, which does not use the word denote?
– jsw29
Mar 24 at 21:25
@jsw29 Sorry for the perplexity. Please edit my post. I answer in your order of questions. 'Semantic meaning'; I used 'signification' to refer to the bolded (sub)meaning of 'meaning' to dodge using 'meaning' in two senses like this. I was no more than checking the author's statement. You're right that questions 2 and 3 aren't related to the passage...I'm contrasting 'mean = signify' vs 'denote'.
– Greek - Area 51 Proposal
Mar 25 at 0:21
It seems self-evident that mean sometimes means signify; it is not clear what about the boldened statement in the quotation is in need of an explanation (even though it appears in a philosophical context, it is not itself a controversial philosophical thesis). As for denote, it is usually treated as a counterpart of connote, and both are treated as aspects of meaning; the precise relationships of the three concepts may differ subtly from one theoretical context to another.
– jsw29
Mar 25 at 16:33
add a comment |
1
It is rather unclear what is being asked here. What exactly is meant by ‘the context of semantic signification’ in the first question? Is the first question a request for an explanation of the quoted passage (which seems quite clear and unproblematic), or an attempt to challenge it? What do the second and the third question have to do with the quoted passage, which does not use the word denote?
– jsw29
Mar 24 at 21:25
@jsw29 Sorry for the perplexity. Please edit my post. I answer in your order of questions. 'Semantic meaning'; I used 'signification' to refer to the bolded (sub)meaning of 'meaning' to dodge using 'meaning' in two senses like this. I was no more than checking the author's statement. You're right that questions 2 and 3 aren't related to the passage...I'm contrasting 'mean = signify' vs 'denote'.
– Greek - Area 51 Proposal
Mar 25 at 0:21
It seems self-evident that mean sometimes means signify; it is not clear what about the boldened statement in the quotation is in need of an explanation (even though it appears in a philosophical context, it is not itself a controversial philosophical thesis). As for denote, it is usually treated as a counterpart of connote, and both are treated as aspects of meaning; the precise relationships of the three concepts may differ subtly from one theoretical context to another.
– jsw29
Mar 25 at 16:33
1
1
It is rather unclear what is being asked here. What exactly is meant by ‘the context of semantic signification’ in the first question? Is the first question a request for an explanation of the quoted passage (which seems quite clear and unproblematic), or an attempt to challenge it? What do the second and the third question have to do with the quoted passage, which does not use the word denote?
– jsw29
Mar 24 at 21:25
It is rather unclear what is being asked here. What exactly is meant by ‘the context of semantic signification’ in the first question? Is the first question a request for an explanation of the quoted passage (which seems quite clear and unproblematic), or an attempt to challenge it? What do the second and the third question have to do with the quoted passage, which does not use the word denote?
– jsw29
Mar 24 at 21:25
@jsw29 Sorry for the perplexity. Please edit my post. I answer in your order of questions. 'Semantic meaning'; I used 'signification' to refer to the bolded (sub)meaning of 'meaning' to dodge using 'meaning' in two senses like this. I was no more than checking the author's statement. You're right that questions 2 and 3 aren't related to the passage...I'm contrasting 'mean = signify' vs 'denote'.
– Greek - Area 51 Proposal
Mar 25 at 0:21
@jsw29 Sorry for the perplexity. Please edit my post. I answer in your order of questions. 'Semantic meaning'; I used 'signification' to refer to the bolded (sub)meaning of 'meaning' to dodge using 'meaning' in two senses like this. I was no more than checking the author's statement. You're right that questions 2 and 3 aren't related to the passage...I'm contrasting 'mean = signify' vs 'denote'.
– Greek - Area 51 Proposal
Mar 25 at 0:21
It seems self-evident that mean sometimes means signify; it is not clear what about the boldened statement in the quotation is in need of an explanation (even though it appears in a philosophical context, it is not itself a controversial philosophical thesis). As for denote, it is usually treated as a counterpart of connote, and both are treated as aspects of meaning; the precise relationships of the three concepts may differ subtly from one theoretical context to another.
– jsw29
Mar 25 at 16:33
It seems self-evident that mean sometimes means signify; it is not clear what about the boldened statement in the quotation is in need of an explanation (even though it appears in a philosophical context, it is not itself a controversial philosophical thesis). As for denote, it is usually treated as a counterpart of connote, and both are treated as aspects of meaning; the precise relationships of the three concepts may differ subtly from one theoretical context to another.
– jsw29
Mar 25 at 16:33
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Meaning in this context involves intent. So if life is meaningful, it is intended for some purpose.
To signify involves an expression of intent. Significance is the expression of a purpose, so significant life expresses its intended purpose.
To denote involves the specific means or technique of expressing a purpose. So significant life might purposefully and intelligently denote (or indicate) an expression of purpose, for the sake of communication with other intelligent beings.
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
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1 Answer
1
active
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
-1
down vote
Meaning in this context involves intent. So if life is meaningful, it is intended for some purpose.
To signify involves an expression of intent. Significance is the expression of a purpose, so significant life expresses its intended purpose.
To denote involves the specific means or technique of expressing a purpose. So significant life might purposefully and intelligently denote (or indicate) an expression of purpose, for the sake of communication with other intelligent beings.
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
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up vote
-1
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Meaning in this context involves intent. So if life is meaningful, it is intended for some purpose.
To signify involves an expression of intent. Significance is the expression of a purpose, so significant life expresses its intended purpose.
To denote involves the specific means or technique of expressing a purpose. So significant life might purposefully and intelligently denote (or indicate) an expression of purpose, for the sake of communication with other intelligent beings.
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
add a comment |
up vote
-1
down vote
up vote
-1
down vote
Meaning in this context involves intent. So if life is meaningful, it is intended for some purpose.
To signify involves an expression of intent. Significance is the expression of a purpose, so significant life expresses its intended purpose.
To denote involves the specific means or technique of expressing a purpose. So significant life might purposefully and intelligently denote (or indicate) an expression of purpose, for the sake of communication with other intelligent beings.
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
Meaning in this context involves intent. So if life is meaningful, it is intended for some purpose.
To signify involves an expression of intent. Significance is the expression of a purpose, so significant life expresses its intended purpose.
To denote involves the specific means or technique of expressing a purpose. So significant life might purposefully and intelligently denote (or indicate) an expression of purpose, for the sake of communication with other intelligent beings.
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
answered Mar 24 at 6:06
Bread
5,30721132
5,30721132
add a comment |
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It is rather unclear what is being asked here. What exactly is meant by ‘the context of semantic signification’ in the first question? Is the first question a request for an explanation of the quoted passage (which seems quite clear and unproblematic), or an attempt to challenge it? What do the second and the third question have to do with the quoted passage, which does not use the word denote?
– jsw29
Mar 24 at 21:25
@jsw29 Sorry for the perplexity. Please edit my post. I answer in your order of questions. 'Semantic meaning'; I used 'signification' to refer to the bolded (sub)meaning of 'meaning' to dodge using 'meaning' in two senses like this. I was no more than checking the author's statement. You're right that questions 2 and 3 aren't related to the passage...I'm contrasting 'mean = signify' vs 'denote'.
– Greek - Area 51 Proposal
Mar 25 at 0:21
It seems self-evident that mean sometimes means signify; it is not clear what about the boldened statement in the quotation is in need of an explanation (even though it appears in a philosophical context, it is not itself a controversial philosophical thesis). As for denote, it is usually treated as a counterpart of connote, and both are treated as aspects of meaning; the precise relationships of the three concepts may differ subtly from one theoretical context to another.
– jsw29
Mar 25 at 16:33