Chapter nine, titled Arguments of Definition pretty much makes the reader think more in depth of definitions. Never, before reading this chapter, did I ever really think about definitions, and how there are so many different definitions for a single word. Its crazy though how one word can completely change. I can think of so many words with multiple meanings especially this day in age. For an example, the word sweet has many different meanings. The word sweet could be a personality, a taste, and a word describing something awesome. Chapter nine explained why definitions matter, different types of definitions, how to craft definitions, and how they are used in our everyday lives. In this chapter, three different definitions are given that are used for arguments; the first is formal definitions, which are definitions that are found in dictionaries. The second type of definition given is operational definitions. I will later discuss these. And last but not least, definitions by example define a class by listing its individual members.
The part of the chapter that I found most interesting and enjoyable was the operational definitions. As the book said, operational definitions identify an object or idea by what it does or by what conditions creates it. The example the book gave was about harassment and whether or not something should be accounted for sexual harassment if the interest was mutual. The example that immediately came to mind was temperature and even more in depth, the word “cold.” I am from Buffalo, NY so cold to me is like 30 degrees. But people here in Arizona think 65 degrees is cold while I’m laying out trying to catch a tan. Or the word “hot” is a good operational definition, also. Some people who hate the sun think that 60 degrees is hot. People like me, who love the sun, think that 100 degrees is hot. There are many different examples out there that can help explain operational definitions.
I liked this post because I also think operational definitions were the most interesting part of this chapter. I also liked this because I could relate to the example Holly gave about the cold weather. Although I am not from Buffalo, New York, I am from Washington D.C and the weather is much colder there than it is here. People from D.C would agree that 65 degrees is a pretty warm day. People from Arizona, though, think that 65 is one of the colder days because they are used to warmer weather. The definition of warm and cold depends on where you are from and what you are used to. This does not just have to do with weather but also with many other aspects in life. You could try and define the word mean. Some people from one area may think one action against someone is mean and other people from a different area may just consider that common behavior. Many things in our daily life have different definitions because of where we grew up, when we grew up, and/or how we were brought up. All of these operational definitions are what our society argues about daily.
ReplyDeleteI think it is true that yes this made you think more in-depth and made you ponder perhaps what definitions they are using in the context. But I think the write is responsible for saying what they want you to get out of it. If the writer uses a word in a different definition they are responsible for telling you how they were saying it. For example you said hot is a good operational definition which it is. So if the word hot is used in a context maybe there should be a piece of information defining what hot is. For me anything above room temperature 32 degrees Celsius is hot. But I can also say water boils at a hot temperature. Obviously the two words are the same but they do not classify the same hot. If you did not know the actually boiling temperature of water then one may assume room temperature would cause it to boil in that context.
ReplyDeleteI find these problems to happen a lot in relationships. Normally the closer you are to someone the more you expect out of them. So when you’re using a definition to describe a friend and then turn it around and use it to describe your partner there can be a lot of confusion. Or if you’re talking about appearance that comes into a touchy subject. It is important to describe your reasoning. For example if one says your hair does not look good, it may be important to specify duration so today for example. Otherwise you’ll get in trouble..