Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mmintl.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) Newsgroups: net.philosophy Subject: Re: Aristotle on language Message-ID: <655@mmintl.UUCP> Date: Fri, 13-Sep-85 20:28:25 EDT Article-I.D.: mmintl.655 Posted: Fri Sep 13 20:28:25 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 16-Sep-85 21:09:37 EDT References: <303@frog.UUCP> Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT Lines: 15 Summary: Aristotle was wrong Unfortunately, words do not mean a single thing, or even a finite list of things. They instead have a fuzzy range of meanings. Thus one can say "this wall is definitely yellow", and "that wall is definitely not yellow", while not being able to say for sure whether another wall is yellow or not. (Some people would call it green.) The fact that some definite statements can be made is enough to enable discourse; it need not be true that every clear statement can be assigned a truth value. (I am not even considering self-referential statements; for purposes of this discussion, they are not "clear statements".) Read some Nietzche. Frank Adams ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka Multimate International 52 Oakland Ave North E. Hartford, CT 06108 Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com