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Logic and Language
Introduction
 Language- is a body of standard meanings of words and the form of speech used as a means of
expressing the feeling, emotion, desire, thought etc in a consistent form of communication
 Language-is the most important thing in the study of logic.
 logic is the study of arguments, and language is the fundamental tool of communication,
 In order to interpret, analyze, and evaluate arguments well, one must pay close attention to
language.
 More specifically, meanings and definitions are very important both, for clear, effective, and
comprehensive communications, and for logical, scientific, and critical evaluations of arguments
 Hence, logic requires proper use of terms and statements.
 The clarification and analysis of terms and statements is the objective of philosophy in general and
logic in particular.
 Many errors in logic originated from a careless or imprecise use of language, and many
misunderstandings about the nature of language.

Lesson 1: Philosophy of Language

 One of the most fundamental questions asked in Philosophy of Language is "what is language (in
general terms)?" According to semiotics, language is the mere manipulation and use of symbols in
order to draw attention to signified content. Semiotics is the study of sign processes in
communication and of how meaning is constructed and understood.
Noam Chomsky- emphasized the role of "grammar" and syntax (sentence structure) (the rules that govern
the structure of sentences) as a characteristic of any language.
He believes that humans are born with an innate understanding of what he calls "universal grammar" (an
innate set of linguistic principles shared by all humans) and a child's exposure to a particular language just
triggers this antecedent knowledge. (All languages share similar features, one language shares this feature
with other languages, which he calls them as universal principles)

I-Language and E-Language

“I-Language”, The language with in it, the grammar that uses, the rules/principle that teaches, is internal
to that language (it is innate/inherent to that speaker, it is not learned, it is acquired through nature b/c
human beings are endowed with the ability to know and speak language).
“E-language”, He tried to explain a language as usage within a specific speech community with a specific
set of well-formed utterances in mind.

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It differs from a specific speech community to other b/c of d/ce in dialects so that it is external to the
speaker, so it is learned.
 Semantic Holism-a type of holism which holds that meaning is not something that is associated
with a single word or sentence, but can only be attributed to the whole language. (the interpretation
of language/the understanding of the meaning of term, word/sentences should not rely on entirely to
the words/terms which are explicitly expressed on that, it depends on the features of the language in
general).
E.g-Interpretation of Arabic and Greek has different of semantic holism.
That is why there is different interpretation in movies.
Philosophy of Language refers to the reasoned inquiry into the origins of language, nature of meaning,
the usage and understanding of language, and the relationship between language and reality.
 Philosophy of Language pose/ask questions like
o What is meaning?
o How does language refer to the real world?
o Is language learned or is it innate?
o How does the meaning of a sentence emerge out of its parts? and other related issues.

The difference between philosophy of language and linguistics

 Linguistics:
 studies about features of specific language and it relations to other languages.
 is the field of study that asks questions like:
o What distinguishes one particular language from another?
o What is it that makes "English" English?
o What is the difference between Spanish and French?
 Philosophy of language focuses on the relation between language and reality and it is the reasoned
inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language.

 Philosophical approaches to the nature of meanings

 Meaning refers to the contents of signs, symbols and sounds.

• Any information contained under any sign or sound or symbol is called meaning.
 There are two essentially different types of linguistic meaning:
I. Conceptual meaning /denotation/:
 refers to the definitions of words themselves, and the features of those definitions, which can be
treated using semantic feature analysis.
 Covers the basic components of a word/the type of meaning that dictionaries describe.
 It covers the basic, essential components of meaning which are taken by the accurate use of
word. Literal meaning of a word. (Word for word).
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E.g.:
1. Snake (denotative meaning)any of numerous scaly ,legless, sometimes venomous reptiles,
having a long ,tapering, cylindrical body and found in most tropical and temperate regions.
2. Needle: thin, sharp, steel, instrument.
3. ‘low calorie’(producing a small amount of heat or energy)
II. Associative meaning/connotations/:
 It refers to the individual mental understandings of the speaker.
 It is a set of subjective, cultural and/or emotional associations in addition to the literal
meaning of a word.
 It is the idea, connection what the specific word brings to you.
 Differ from one person to the next person
E.g.:
1. needle: pain, doctor illness, etc
2. evil, danger
3. ‘Low- calories’(healthy)

 Brief Debates and History of philosophy of Language

Early works on language philosophy were covered by Plato, Aristotle and stoic philosophers
• Plato: considered that language, meanings and names are directly connected to the nature.
• Aristotle: believed that language, meaning and names are related to the relationship between
specific things. e.g some names are related to the sound of the things.
 This idea of Aristotle is later known as Nominalism.
• Stoic philosophers: stoics (stoic philosophy) were first emerged in ancient Latin and later on
accepted by ancient Greek, become highly influential in medieval period
 Stoic philosophers (a member of the ancient Greek school of philosophy founded by Zeno)
contributed a lot for the development of philosophy of language.
 A contribution of stoics is very high in modern grammar, parts of speech, problems of language like
vagueness and ambiguity.
• Stoic philosophers assumed logic as science of language. This idea was latter on accepted by
continental philosophers
• They were very known for their contribution for lekton (the meaning or sense of every term)

 Approaches to the philosophical nature of language

There are several approaches to the philosophical nature of meanings
1. Idea Theory: meanings are purely mental contents provoked by signs. Advocators – John Locke
and David Hume

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2. Truth Conditional theory: meaning refers to the conditions in which an expression may be either
true or false. Advocator- Gottlob Frege
3. Use theory: meaning is related to the way we accept speeches and particular way of
communication sound, not related to expressions. Advocator - Ludwig Wittgenstein
4. Reference theory (semantic externalism):- meaning is connected to the signs. Advocator – Tyler
Burge and Saul Kripke
 External/outside the control of the speaker.
5. Verification theory: meaning is associated with methods of verification or falsification of
sentences. It is giving of meanings analytical and empirical (experiment/observation) methods.
Meaning of sentence through demonstration (in natural science like chem/Bio,physics). Adopted
by the Logical Positivists of the early 20th century.
6. Pragmatist theory: Maintain that the meaning or understanding of a sentence is determined by
the consequence of its application. If it brings a good outcome the interpretation or the
understanding of that sentence will be good.
7. Semantic Holism: meaning is not related to single word or sentence but related to whole language.

Lesson 2: Logic and Meaning

Language:
 is defined as a means of communication.
 is a body of standard meanings of words and the form of speech used as a means of expressing the
feeling, emotion, desire, thought etc., in a consistent pattern of communication.
 is a tool of communication and the means of communicating ideas.
 is the way of conveying information and evoking feelings.
Language requires symbols such as words, sounds, gestures, signs that are patterned and related in
certain way for the purpose of communicating meanings.
 It is the way of conveying/transmitting information and evoking/provoking feelings.

According to semiotics language refers to the simple manipulation/use of contents of signs,

symbols and sounds.
Semiotics:
 means philosophical theory of the functions of sign and symbols.
 is study of sign process in communication and how meanings are constructed.
 is the study of sign process in communication and how meaning is constructed and understood.
 is the academic study of the relationship of language and other signs to their meanings.

 Importance of language according to Ludwig Wittgenstein

 The twentieth-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein thought the number of functions
of language to be virtually unlimited. Thus, among other things, language is used to:
Ordinary language is used for a number of functions. Among other things, language is used to:
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o Ask questions
o Tell stories
o Sing songs
o Tell jokes
o Issue directions
o Tell lies
o Form hypotheses
o Guess at answers
o Greet someone and so on.
o Launch verbal assaults
o Issue commands

The function of language: Cognitive meanings and Emotive meanings

 Two Linguistic functions are particularly important:
1. To convey information
2. To express or evoke feelings.
 Terminology that convey information is said to have cognitive meaning, and
 Terminology that expresses or evokes feelings is said to have emotive meaning.
1. Cognitive/Informative function (to convey information):
 Conveys information about something.
 Refers to the content of something
 Communicates the meaning of something concepts (terms)
 Can be evaluated as true/false.
Example:
1. “Death penalty, which is legal in thirty-six states, has been carried out most often in Georgia;
however, since 1977 Texas holds the record for the greatest number of executions”.
 In this example, the words ‘‘legal,’’ ‘‘thirty-six,’’ ‘‘most often,’’
‘‘Georgia,’’ ‘‘record,’’ etc. have primarily a cognitive meaning.
2. Ethiopia is a developed country.
3. Hawassa city is a capital of Sidama region.
4. The CIA has engaged in political sabotage in some countries. For example, the CIA collaborated in
the overthrow president Edwardo Ayende of Chile.
a. The above examples are simply provide information on certain situation issue, so they
are cognitive in nature.
• The major problem of cognitive meanings is that they are sometimes vague/unclear and
Ambiguous/the word which will have double interpretation. This is taken as deficiency of
Cognitive Meanings.

2. Expressive/emotive function of language

 Used to express our feelings and emotions

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 Can’t be evaluated as true or false
Example: I dislike Logic. I hate him. She is smart.
The major problem of emotive languages is that they are sometimes illogical or unreasoned.
Ex. 1: The death penalty is a cruel and inhuman form of punishment in which hapless prisoners are
dragged from their cells and summarily slaughtered only to satiate the bloodlust of a vengeful public.”
In this ex. word like “cruel,” ‘inhuman,’ “hapless,” “dragged”, “slaughtered”, “bloodlust” and “vengeful”
have an emotive face and evoke feelings.

 Emotive Terminologies & Usage

Most of the time emotive expressions are used in advertising and in military practices.
A. Advertising:
 its purpose is to convey information/message about a product .
 The claim uses/elicits a favorable emotional response. ( there is a kind of exaggeration)
Ex. 1: Sport cola is the best, joyful soft drink whose taste is so unbelievably remarkable that you won’t
help drinking it all day along! And the best is for you and not for anyone else.
Ex. 2: Nyala Insurance is like a good neighbor. A good neighbor is a person who is always there in time
of need, which is exactly what everyone wants from Nyala Insurance. Let our company be your life time
partner.
B. The Military:
Because languages associate with military ventures often call forth negative emotions. To neutralize this
effect, the military spokespersons use neutral terminologies to evoke a neutral response like:
“Human targets”  ‘Soft targets’ “A retreat”  ‘An adjustment on the front’
“Dropping bomb”  ‘Servicing a site’ “A war”  ‘A police action”
“Bombers”  ’Face packages’

Emotive Terminologies in arguments

 Emotive terminologies allow the arguer to make value claims about the subject matter of the
argument without providing evidence, and it gives the argument a kind of steamroller quality by
which it tends to crush potential counter arguments before the reader or listener has chance to think
of them.
 This steamroller quality also tends to paralyze the logical thought processes of readers or listeners
so that they are not able to see illogical arguments in their true light.

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 Effects of emotive terminology can be avoided if the reader or listener will disengage the value
claims and other cognitive meanings from the emotive meanings of the language and re-express
them as distinct premises.

Example:

Now we know that the rocks on the moon are similar to those in our backyard and that tadpoles can exist
in a weightless environment, and now that we have put the rest of the world in order, can we concentrate
on the problems here at home? Like what makes people hungry and why is unemployment so elusive?

 The conclusion of this argument is that our government should take money that has been spent on
the space program and on international police actions and redirect it to solving domestic problems.
 The author minimizes the importance of the space program by covertly suggesting that it amounts
to nothing more than work on ordinary rocks and tadpoles (which, by themselves are relatively
insignificant), and he exaggerates the scope of the international effort by covertly suggesting that it
has solved every problem on earth but our own.
Also, the phrase ‘‘put . . . in order’’ suggests that the international effort has been no more important than
restoring order to a room in one’s house. We might rephrase the argument in emotively neutral language,
making the implicit suggestions and value claims explicit, as follows:
P1.The space program has been confined to work on ordinary rocks and tadpoles.
P2.Ordinary rocks and tadpoles are less important than domestic hunger and unemployment.
P3.Our international efforts have restored order to every nation on earth but our own.
P4.These efforts have been directed to problems that are less important than our own domestic problems.
C. Therefore, our government should redirect funds that have been spent on these projects to solving our
own domestic problems.
By restructuring the argument in this way, we can more easily evaluate the degree to which the
premises support the conclusion.
Value claim
 Logic is concerned chiefly with cognitive meaning, it is important that we be able to distinguish and
disengage/withdraw/ the cognitive meaning of such statements from the emotive meaning
 the cognitive meaning of such statements is a value claim.
 A value claim is a claim that something is good, bad, right, wrong, or better, worse, more important
or less important than some other thing.
2.1.2. Deficiency of Cognitive Meanings: Vagueness and Ambiguity
 The two linguistic problems that affect our cognitive use of language are: Vagueness and
ambiguity
 A linguistic expression is said to be vague if there are boarder line cases in which it is impossible to
tell if the expression applies or does not apply.
 Vague expression often allow for a continuous range of interpretations.
 Vague expression is used where something lacks precise or detail.
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For example, Words such as “Love”, “happiness”, “peace”, “excessive’’, ”fresh”, “rich”, “poor’,
normal”, “conservative”, and “polluted” are vague.
• An expression is said to be ambiguous when it can be interpreted or having more than one clearly
distinct meaning in a given context.
• Ambiguous is something that could have two meaning, or is open to interpretation.
For example, Words such as “Light”, “proper”, “critical” “stress”, “right”, “bank” and “sound”, can
be used as ambiguously.
• As in the case with vagueness, ambiguity can also affect the full statements.

2.1.3. Forms of Disputes in Logic: Verbal and Factual Disputes

1. Verbal disputes: disputes that arise over the meaning of language.
 These are disputes in which the apparent conflict is not genuine and can be resolved by coming to
agreement about how some words or phrases is to be understood.
Examples of vagueness on verbal disputes
• Kassa: Mrs. Zenebech abuses her children. And how do I know that? I saw her spank
one of her kids the other day after the kid misbehaved.
• Jemal: Don’t be silly. Kids need discipline, and by disciplining her children,
Mrs. Zenebech is showing that she loves them.
Examples of ambiguity on Verbal disputes.
• Mullu: I’m afraid that Dagim is guilty of cheating in the exam. Last night he confessed to me
that he was sate closer to Tsedale, who is the most excellent student in our class, and takes
almost all answers from her.
• Worku: No, you couldn’t be more mistaken. In this country, no one is guilty until proven so
in a court of law, and Dagim has not yet even been accused of anything.
The dispute arises over the ambiguity of the word “guilty” Mulu is using the word in the moral
sense.
On the other hand, Worku is using the word in the legal sense.\

2. Factual disputes: disputes arise over a disagreement about facts.

Example-1:
• Debebe: I know that Fisseha stole a computer from the old school house. Aberash told me that
she saw Fisseha do it.
• Maru: That‟s ridiculous! Fisseha has never stolen anything in his life. Aberash hates Fisseha, and
she is trying to pin the theft on him only to shield her criminal boyfriend.
Here the dispute centers on the factual issues of whether Aberash told the truth and whether
Fiseha stole the computer.

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 Nature or Features of meaning of terms/words
 Words - are usually considered to be symbols, and the objects that they symbolize are usually
called Meanings.
 Words are the most basic units in any language, and thus the most important thing in every
argument.
 A term - is any word or arrangement of words that may serve as a subject of a statement that
contains: I. proper names,
II. Common names and
III. Descriptive phrases

proper names common names descriptive phrases

Ras Dashen Animal Author of Fikir Iske Mekabir

Ethiopia House Those who study hard

Kidist Person Books in my library

Khartoum Activity First president of Mali

Words that are not terms include

Words that are not terms The following words or phrases are not terms; none can
serve as the subject of a statement:

Verbs - Eager

Adjectives - Runs quickly

Adverbs - Dictatorial

Propositions - Above and beyond

Conjunctions - Moreover

Grammatically disorder arrangements - Cabbages into again the forest, etc.

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 Meaning of terms

 Terms, being made up of words, are also symbols, but the meanings they symbolize are of two
kinds: intensional and extensional. There are two types of meaning of terms: intensional and
extensions.

• The Intensional meaning: meaning given for things by using quality and attributes that the term
connotes/implies.
• The Extensional Meaning: meaning given to words by using the members of the class that the
term denotes/symbolizes
The intensional meaning of term is called intension or connotation/implication, and the extensional
meaning is called extension or denotation/meaning.
In grammar,
 ‘‘Connotation’’ refers to the indirect hints of a word.
 ‘‘Denotation’’ refers to the word’s direct and specific meaning.

 Ex. “Ship”, “Inventor” and ‘‘cat’’

Intension:
 Ship is ‘vehicles for transportation on water’.
 Inventor means a person who is; clever, intuitive, creative and imaginative.
 Cat: consists of the attributes of being furry, of having four legs, of moving in a certain way, of
emitting certain sounds, and so on.
Extension:
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 Ship is like things as cargo ships, passenger ships, battle ships, and sailing ships.
 Inventor means such as; Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Samuel F.B. Morse.
 Cat: cats themselves- all the cats in the universe, all the cats in the universe

Class members Attributes

(extension) (intension)

symbolizes connote
s

Thomas Edison Clever

Alexander Graham Bell Intuitive
Samuel F. B. Morse Creative
Wright brothers Imaginative
“Inventor”

Conventional connotation:
 The conventional connotation of a term includes the attributes that the term commonly calls forth in
the minds of competent speakers of the language.
 the connotation of a term remains more or less the same from person to person and from time to
time.
 The denotation of a term also typically remains the same from person to person, but it may change
with the passage of time.

Empty extension:
 They are said to denote the empty (or “null”) class, the class that has no members. They do not have
empty intension.
 Empty extension leads us to an important connection between extension and intension- that
intension determines extension.
The intensional meaning of a term serves as the criterion for deciding what the extension consists
of.
Some terms have an intension, but no extension.
Example: ‘Unicorn’ has an empty extension. However, it does have an intension (four-
legged, hours like, horn-having)

 The following terms also have no class member for the term- so, we call it Empty Extension

Example: “Current King of Ethiopia”, “Dinosaurs”, “God”, “Satan”

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 Such terms denote the empty (or null) class, the class that has no members or their character is
difficult to know. Empty extension: empty class or zero members in it
 The distinction between intension and extension may be further illustrated by comparing the way in
which these concepts can be used to give order to random sequences of terms.

 The distinction between intension and extension explained by comparing the way in which these
concepts can be used to give order to random sequences of terms.
 Terms may be put in the order of increasing intension, increasing extension, decreasing intension,
and decreasing extension.
 Increasing Intension: a sequence of terms is in the order of increasing intension when each term in
a series (except the first) connotes more attributes than the one preceding it.
(series: similar things placed in order)
• That is, each term in the series is more specific than the one preceding it. The reverse is true for
decreasing intension
• Intension increases when we list things from general to particular.
 Decreasing intension: is the reverse of that of increasing intension.

 Increasing Extension: a series of terms is in the order of increasing extension when each term. In
the series (except the first) denotes a class having more members.
(series: similar things placed in order)
• That is the class size gets larger with each following term. The reverse is true for decreasing
extension.
• Decreasing extension: is the reverse of that of increasing extension.

Increasing Extension when we list things from particular to general, extension increases.
Increasing Intension: Animal, Mammal, Feline, Tiger.
Decreasing Intension: Tiger, Feline, Mammal, Animal.
Increasing Extension: Tiger, Feline, Mammal, Animal.
Decreasing Extension: Animal, Mammal, Feline, Tiger.
Increasing Intension = Decreasing Extension
Decreasing Intension = Increasing Extension

Increasing extension (decreasing intension)

Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

Increasing Intension (decreasing Extension)

• There are, however, some exceptions. Consider the following sequences:

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 Unicorn; unicorn with blue eyes; unicorn with blue eyes and green horn;
 unicorn with blue eyes, green horn, and a weight of over 400 pounds
• Each term in these sequences has empty extension; so, while the sequence shows the order of
increasing intension, it does not show the order of decreasing extension.
• Intensional meaning in grammar and linguistics refers to understated grammatical hints of words or
senses under the word
• Extensional meaning in grammar and linguistics refers to direct meaning of word or the direct
reference
• The problem in intensional meaning is that it may differ from person to person because some
people may give meaning for things by taking the bad character of things. Or
• Connotation of a term remains more or less the same from person to person and from time to time.
• The problem of extensional meaning is that it may differ from time to time because the member of
the class of things may differ in periods of time. Or
• Denotasion of term also remains the same from person to person, but it may change with the
passage of time.
• Intension determines extension – if we know the attribute of the thing we can know the member of
its class
• Intension and extension differ from cognitive meanings because in cognitive meanings there is
value claim. Value claim- bad/good/true/false etc.
• Intension and extension indicates the reference of a term or concept. “Intension” indicates the
internal content of a term or concept that creates its formal definition. “Extension” indicates its
range of applicability by naming the particular objects that it denotes/symbolizes.
• If terms have extension, they have intention. But, if the terms have intention, they might not have
extension. Therefore, intention determines extension.
Exceptions:
 There are certain cases where there is empty extension but increasing intension.
Example: Unicorn, unicorn with blue eyes, unicorn with blue eyes and green horn.
• This example illustrates:
 Existence of empty extension.
 Increasing intention
 Constant extension.
There are also cases where there no empty extension, but increasing intention.
• Example: Living human being; living human being with a genetic code; living human being with a
genetic code and a brain; living human being with a genetic code, a brain, and a height of less than 100 feet
• This example illustrates increasing intension but constant extension.

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 Logic and Definition

Lesson 3: Meaning, Types, and Purposes of Definitions

 The Meaning of Definition

Definition: is a group or organization of words/terms/phrases that explains words or assigns a meaning to
some words or groups of words.
 Every definition had two parts: I. The definiendum and
II. The definiens.
• Definiendum: the word or group of words that is supposed to be defined. Or Word to be defined.
• Definiens: word or group of words that does the defining. Or Words that do the defining.
Ex: “Tiger” means a large, striped, aggressive and beast indigenous to the jungles of India and Asia.
 “Tiger” = definiendum
 Everything after “Tiger” = definiens

3.1. Kinds of Definitions

 Based on the functions that they actually serve, definitions can be classified into five kinds:
1. Stipulative definition,
2. Lexical definition,
3. Précising definition,
4. Theoretical definition and
5. Persuasive definition.

1. Stipulative Definition
 Assigns a meaning to a word for the first time which may involve either:
i. Coining/Inventing a new word or
ii. Giving a new meaning to an old word.
 caused by new phenomena and developments
 Definition/statements doesn’t have truth value/Cannot be either true or
false
 Its purpose is:
1. simplifying complex expressions or to replace a more complex expression with a
simplest one.

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Example:-
A male tiger + a female lion were reproduced & given a new name “Tigon”
 A male lion and a female tiger – “Liger”
 A zebra + A donkey = the offspring was called a “zeedonk.”
2. Used to set up new secret codes:
• Example:
1. “Operation Barbarosa” - a name gave Nazi Germans to the invasion of USSR/Russia.
2. “Operation sunset” - Ethio-Ertrea war (1998).
3. “Tora! Tora! Tora!” - the Japanese code name during World War II.
4. “Operation desert storm” – a code name given to the 1991 military invasion of Iraq.

2. Lexical Definition
• This is used to report the meaning that a word already has in a language.
• Dictionary definitions.
• It can be said as either true or false because it is simple report of meaning of words in language
 Its purpose is: to reduce/eliminate the ambiguity of words- the word its meaning will contain
double interpretation.
• A word is Ambiguous -like “light”, “bank”, “sound”, “right” or “race”
• Bank: 1. financial institution 2. Edge of the river
3. Précising Definitions
• When we define words by showing the applicability of the word to a specific situation it is called
précising definitions
• They reduce the vagueness of a word
• Words like -“Love” “happiness” “peace”, “rich”, “poor,” are Vague
• Ex.1. “Poor” is vague
A legislation was introduced to give direct financial assistance to the poor. Now, who is the poor? Here
we can use a précising definition like: “Poor” means having an annual income of less than 1,000
Dollar.
• Whenever words are taken from ordinary usage and used in a highly systematic
context such as science, mathematics, medicine, or law, they must always be clarified by means of a
précising definition.
• The terms ‘‘force’’, ‘‘energy’’ , ‘‘acid’’ , ‘‘element’’, ‘‘number’’ , ‘‘equality’’ , ‘‘contract,’’ and
‘‘agent’’ have all been given précising definitions by specific disciplines.
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• Ex.2. “Dead” person – is vague
Precision definition: in medical science a “dead” person is a person whose brain stops
functioning permanently.

4. Theoretical Definition
 This provides a theoretical picture or characterization of entity denoted by the definienum.
 Assigns a meaning to a word by suggesting a theory that gives a certain characterization to the
things that the term means.
 Definition by using experimental procedures or the experimental suggestion.
 Used in investigation or experimental works.
 Can’t be evaluated as true/false.
Example:
 “Light” means a form of electromagnetic radiation.
 ‘‘F = MA.’’
 “Heat” means the energy associated with the random motion of the molecules of a
substance.”

 Not all theoretical definitions are associated with science.

Many terms in philosophy, such as ‘‘substance,’’ ‘‘form,’’ ‘‘cause,’’ ‘‘change,’’ ‘‘idea,’’ ‘‘good,’’
‘‘mind,’’ and ‘‘God,’’ have been given theoretical definitions.
Ex.1: John Stuart Mill’s definition of “Good” is the greatest happiness for the greatest number of
people.
• “Materialism” is a philosophical doctrine asserting nothing exists but matter.

5. Persuasive Definition
 The definition which proposed to assure action or belief.
 Its purpose is: to produce a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward what is denoted by the
definiendum. Or, to change or to influence the attitude of audiences (the reader or listener).
 To win the acceptance of audiences.
 Can be evaluated as either true or false
Example 1:
“Abortion” means the brutal murdering of innocent human beings.
“Abortion” means of a safe and establish surgical procedure whereby a woman is released of an
unwanted burden.
Example 2:

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“Taxation” means the procedure by means of which our common wealth is presented and sustained.

“Taxation” means the procedure used by bureaucrats to rip off the people who elected them.
The objective of a persuasive definition is to influence the attitudes of the reader or listener; thus,
such definitions may be used with considerable effectiveness in political speeches and editorial
columns.

Lesson 4: Techniques of Definition

Definitional techniques can be classified as:

I. The Extensional (Denotative) Definitional Techniques

II. The Intensional (Connotative) Definitional Techniques
 An extensional definition is one that assigns a meaning to a term by indicating the members
of the class that the definiendum denotes.
 An intensional definition one that assigns a meaning to a word by indicating the qualities or
attributes that the word connotes.

4.1. The Extensional (Denotative) Definitional Techniques

 There are at least three ways of indicating the members of a class:

1. Pointing to the member/s of a class (demonstrative or ostensive definitions),

2. Naming things of similar nature individually (enumerative definitions), and
3. Naming things contained under the group (definitions by subclass).

1. Demonstrative (ostensive) Definitions:

 Are probably the most primitive form of definition
 Meaning by pointing to things.
 May be partial or complete listing of things of similar nature.
Ex: “Chair” means this, this and that, as you point to a number of chairs, one after the other.
“Axum obelisk” means this – as you point to it.

 Demonstrative definitions are the most limited, because:

1. First, the required objects must be available for being pointed at. For example, if one wishes to
define the word “Sun” and it happens to be night time or the word “Dog” and none happens to be in
the surrounding area, a demonstrative definition can’t be used.
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2. In addition, such definition do not involve a group of words rather gesture - the gesture of
pointing which must count as a word.
The “words” in many sign languages consist completely of gestures.

2. Enumerative Definitions:
 Assign meaning to a term by naming the members of a class the term denotes.
 May be partial or complete.
Examples:

“Actor” means a person such as Al Pacino, Nicholas Cage or Richard Gene. (Partial)
“Planet” means one of the following: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune or Pluto. (Complete)
Complete enumerative definitions are usually more satisfying than partial ones because they identify the
definiendum with greater assurance. However, relatively few classes can be completely enumerated.

3. Definition by Subclass:
 Assigns a meaning to a term by naming subclasses of the class denoted by the term.
 It may be either partial or complete, depending on whether the subclasses named, when taken
together, include all the members of the class or only some of them.
Examples:
“Tree” means an oak, pine, elm, spruce, maple and the like. (Partial)
“Fictional Work” means; a poem, a play, a novel or a short story. (Complete)
Units of computer mean; Input unit, Storage unit, Central processing Unit, output unit, and Memory.

N.B: This technique is not helpful for précising definition.

4.2. Intensional (Connotative) Definitional Techniques

 This is the one that assigns a meaning to a word by indicating the qualities or attributes that the
word connotes.
 There are at least four strategies that may be used to indicate the attributes/qualities that a word
connotes:
1. Synonymous definition
2. Etymological definition
3. Operational definition and
4. Definition by genus and difference.
1. Synonymous definition:
 This is the one in which the definiens is a single word that connotes the same attributes as the
definiedum.
Ex: “Physician” means a doctor.

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“Observe” means see.

2. Etymological Definition
 Assigns a meaning to a word by disclosing the word’s ancestry in both its’ own language and
other languages.
Example-1:
“License” is derived from the Latin verb “Licere,” which means to be permitted.
“Captain” derives from the Latin noun “caput” which means head.
 It has two major importance:
1. it gives the root meaning of word.
2. it helps to know all other words related to that words.
Example-2:
 The word “Orthodox”: derives from the two Greek words, “Ortho”, meaning right or straight, and
“Doxa”, meaning belief or opinion. Therefore, Orthodox means straight belief.

3. Operational Definition
 This assigns a meaning to a word by specifying certain experimental procedures that determine
whether or not the word applies to a certain thing.
 Operational definitions are developed for the purpose of clarifying abstract concepts to the
ground of empirical reality.
Example 1:
 One substance is “harder than” another if and only if one scratches the other when the two are
rubbed together.
Example 2:
 A solution is an “acid” if and only if litmus paper turns red when dipped into it.

4. Definition by Genus and Difference

 This assigns a meaning to a term by identifying a genus term and one or more difference words
that, when combined, convey the meaning of the definiendum.
 Genus: means a relatively larger class,
 Species: means a relatively smaller subclass of the genus.
 Difference: means the attribute/s that distinguish the various species with in a genus
Examples:

Species Difference Genus

“Ice” means frozen water.
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“Daughter” means female offspring.
“Husband” means married man.
“Doe” means female deer.
“Ewe” means female sheep.
“Ram” means male sheep.
“Skyscraper” means very tall building.
 However, there are other examples which are more sophisticated.
Example:
“Tent” means a collapsible shelter made of canvas or other material that is stretched and
sustained by poles.
“Tent” is the species
“Shelter” is the genus
“Collapsible” and Made up of Cavas are the difference
Lesson 4: Criteria for Lexical Definitions

 Lexical definitions are formal kind of definitions that we use in academic world so that they
should be carefully constructed.
 There are rules in constructing lexical definitions:

 Rule 1:
A Lexical Definition should conform to the rules of proper grammar
Example:
 Furies means if you are angry to someone-bad “furies” means a condition of being
angry-good
 Rule 2:
A Lexical Definition Should Convey the Essential Meaning of the Word Being Defined.

 Rule 3:
A Lexical Definition Should Be Neither Too Broad nor Too Narrow.
 If definition is too broad; the definiens includes too much.
 If definition is too narrow, the definiens includes too little.
Example:
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 ‘‘Bird’’ were defined as any warm-blooded animal having wings. This definition
would be too broad, because it would include bats, and bats are not birds.
If, on the other hand, ‘‘Bird’’ were defined as any warm-blooded, feathered animal
that can fly, the definition would be too narrow because it would exclude ostriches,
which cannot fly.
 Rule 4:
A Lexical Definition Should Avoid Circularity.
Example:
 “Science’’ means the activity engaged in by scientists.
 “Scientist’’ means anyone who engages in science.

At other times, a definition may be intrinsically circular. Of the following, the first is a synonymous
definition, the second a definition by genus and difference:
 “Quiet” means quietude.
 “Silence” means the state of being silent.

Certain operational definitions also run the risk of circularity:

 “Time” means whatever is measured by a clock.
Surely a person would have to know what “time” means before he/she could understand the
purpose of a clock.
 Rule 5:
A Lexical Definition Should Not Be Negative When It Can Be Affirmative.
Of the following two definitions; the first is affirmative, the second negative:

Example:
 “Concord’’ means harmony.
 “Concord’’ means the absence of discord.
Some words, however, are intrinsically negative. For them, a negative definition is quite appropriate.

Examples:

 “Bald” means lacking hair.

 “Darkness” means the absence of light.
 Rule 6:
A Lexical Definition Should Avoid Figurative, Obscure, Vague, or Ambiguous Language.

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 A definition is figurative; if it involves metaphors or tends to paint a picture instead of exposing
the essential meaning of a term.
Examples:
 “Camel’’ means a ship of the desert.
 A definition is obscure; if its meaning is hidden as a result of defective or inappropriate language.
One source of obscurity is overly technical language.
Examples:
 “Bunny’’ means a mammalian of the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha
whose young are born furless and blind.
 “Bunny’’ means a rabbit.
N.B:
 A definition is vague if it lacks precision
Example:
 “Democracy’’ means a kind of government where the people are in control.
• This definition fails to identify the people who are in control, how they exercise
their control, and what they are in control of.

 A definition is ambiguous if it lends itself to more than one distinct interpretation.

Example:
 “Triangle’’ means a figure composed of three straight lines in which all the angles are
equal to 180.
Does this mean that each angle separately is equal to 180 or that the angles taken together are equal to
180? Either interpretation is possible given the ambiguous meaning of “all the angles are equal to
180.”

 Rule 7:
A Lexical Definition Should Avoid Affective Terminology.
 Affective terminology is any kind of word usage that plays upon the emotions of the reader or
listener.
Example:
 “Communism’’ means that ‘‘brilliant’’ invention of Karl Marx and other foolish
political visionaries in which the national wealth is supposed to be held in common by
the people.
 Rule 8:
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A Lexical Definition Should Indicate the Context to Which the Definiens Pertains.
 This rule applies to any definition in which the context of the definiens is important to the meaning
of the definiendum.
Example:
 “Strike” means (in baseball) a pitch at which a batter swings and misses.
 “Strike” means (in bowling) the act of knocking down all the pins with the first ball of a frame.
 “Strike” means (in fishing) a pull on a line made by a fish in taking the bait.

Summary of Chapter Three

Linguistic expressions can have different kinds of meaning:
• Cognitive meaning: Conveys information
• Emotive meaning: Expresses or evokes feelings
Statements having emotive meaning often make value claims. When such statements occur in
arguments, the value claims should be disengaged from the emotive terminology and expressed as
separate premises.
Cognitive meanings can be defective in two ways:
• Vagueness: The meaning is blurred.
• Ambiguity: More than one clearly distinct meaning is possible.
A term is a word or phrase that can serve as the subject of a statement. Terms include:
• Proper names (Napoleon, North Dakota, etc.)
• Common names (animal, house, etc.)
• Descriptive phrases (author of Hamlet, books in my library, etc.)
Terms can have different kinds of meaning:
• Intensional meaning (or intension): The attributes that the term connotes
• Extensional meaning (or extension): The members of the class that the term denotes
o Terms that refer to nonexistent things have empty extension.
A definition is a word or group of words that assigns a meaning to a word or group of words:
• Definiendum: The word or group of words being defined
• Definiens: The word or group of words that does the defining
Definitions can serve different purposes, so there are different kinds of definitions:
• Stipulative definitions assign a meaning to a word when it first comes into use.
• Lexical definitions report the meaning a word has within a community of users.
• Precising definitions reduce the vagueness of a word.
• Theoretical definitions appeal to a theory to characterize whatever the term denotes.
• Persuasive definitions influence the attitudes of the community of users regarding whatever the
word denotes.
Intensional meaning and extensional meaning provide a basis for constructing definitions:

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Extensional definitions assign a meaning by identifying the things the word denotes:
 Demonstrative definitions “point” to these things.
 Enumerative definitions name individuals that the word denotes.
 Definitions by subclass identify subclasses of these things.
Intensional definitions assign a meaning by identifying the attributes the word connotes:
 Synonymous definitions equate the word being defined with another word that
connotes the same attributes.
 Etymological definitions disclose the word’s ancestry.
 Operational definitions specify experimental procedures for determining whether the
word applies to a certain thing.
 Definitions by genus and difference identify a genus term and one or more
difference words that, when combined, convey the meaning of the definiendum.
Lexical definitions are governed by eight rules. They should:
 Conform to the standards of proper grammar.
 Convey the essential meaning of the word being defined.
 Be neither too broad nor too narrow.
 Avoid circularity.
 Not be negative when they can be affirmative.
 Avoid figurative, obscure, vague, or ambiguous language.
 Avoid affective terminology.
 Indicate the context to which the definiens pertains.

END OF CHAPTER - Three

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