#true neutral acceptable when parentheses are present

[innuendostudios]

The newest installment of The Alt-Right Playbook: Mainstreaming. If you like this series, or my other work, and want to see more of the same, consider backing me on Patreon.

Transcript below the cut.

Say, for the sake of argument, there’s this acclaimed science fiction writer and essayist who’s writing his memoir in the late 80’s. I’m gonna drop the pretense right now and say his name is Samuel R. Delany, he’s been namedropped on this channel before and he probably will be again because he’s my favorite writer. Delany’s writing about his experience as a young gay man in the late 50’s/early 60’s - that is, nearly a decade before Stonewall - and he opts to share a couple of anecdotes, which I will relate to you now.

One is about a time when he decided to come out to his therapy group. While being gay in mid-century New York brought Delany a lot of joy, he found himself describing his life to the group as though being gay were something he was trying to fix. By reflex, he presented himself as lonely and ashamed, though, in reality, he was neither. And, while he did eventually describe himself more accurately, he can’t help but muse, in the book, on the limits of language at the time.

Back then, the word “gay” was explicitly associated with high camp and effeminacy, where Delany is more of a bear, a term that was not yet in common usage. The default term was “homosexual,” which was then a medical classification for what was deemed a mental disorder. “Queer” and the f-word were still slurs that had yet to be reappropriated. So, while all the words to describe himself were, technically, available, they all carried the connotations of the most popular narrative about gay men: that they were isolated, aberrant, and pitiable.

Another story is about Delany being present for a police raid at a truck stop where queer men would meet for casual hookups. By the nature of being hidden in the bushes or secreted between parked semi trailers, any man in attendance could see the men nearest to him, but none could get a view of the whole. But, during the raid, from his vantage point, Delany saw, for the first time, the size of the entire crowd, and was shocked to see nearly a hundred men empty out of the parking lot to evade the cops. In the morning, the police blotter mentioned only the handful of men who’d been arrested, and not the 80 or 90 who got away.

Both of these stories are about how the dominant narrative of the isolated gay man becomes self-reinforcing: A constant threat of police violence meant gay men stayed hidden from the cops and, consequently, from each other. And the terminology of the era being mostly dictated by straight people made it very hard to talk about queerness without reinforcing their narrative.

Delany argues that, among the most revolutionary things the 60’s did to culture, was the radicalization of language - redefining old terms and popularizing new ones - and giving marginalized groups a budding sense of their numbers. In short, two of the most powerful tools for making any marginalized group less marginalized are Language and Visibility.

Folks, we’re talking today about Mainstreaming, the process by which a group or idea from the fringes of society moves towards the center. How strangers become neighbors and how thoughts become common sense. There is a concept known as the Overton Window, which I am not going to describe because plenty of people have done so already - link in the down there part - but, in short: as a fringe group becomes more visible, and their language becomes commonplace, their presence in society starts to seem normal. They become demystified. Some people who thought they were strange and threatening will start to warm up to them, though this does not happen across the board. Many who hated them when they were fringe will see their becoming mainstream as a kind of existential occupation of territory, as in “If this is normal now, what does that make me?”

But much of what is considered standard in society today has gone through this process.

Now, straight folks like myself often think that greater queer visibility and the proliferation of queer language is for our benefit; if our queer friends feel safe coming out to us and we know which words we should and shouldn’t use, it makes it easier for straights and queer folks to be pals! And it is true that no one gets mainstreamed without advocates in the existing mainstream, but let’s not beat around the bush: Language and Visibility are tools of consolidating power. Visibility means having a sense of your numbers. Common language means forming alliances. You get a bunch of formerly isolated gay men connecting with each other and accurately describing their experiences, you’ve got yourself a movement, with or without straight friends.

This is why it’s to the benefit of straight society to tell queer men they are isolated, because isolated queer men are in no position to make demands.

(Just so it doesn’t get left out of yet another conversation, Delany is writing about gay men because the book is a memoir and that’s his experience, but neither he nor I are ignoring that the Gay Rights movement was kicked off by trans women.)

Okay!

While the example I’m using is a positive one that any progressive worth their salt should be in favor of, mainstreaming is a morally neutral phenomenon. Culture is plastic. Any fringe group or idea can become normalized, regardless of its inherent worth. And, for a certain subset of extremely online people with fringe beliefs, who understand the ways mainstreaming has evolved in the attention economy, it can be a weapon.

We need to ask how a group of predominantly disgruntled twenty- and thirtysomething white men congregating on anonymous imageboards becomes a political movement, whose members get profiled in the New York Times, whose writing patterns are recognized by most of the internet, and whose figureheads get staffed in the White House. Where did the Alt-Right come from?

Mainstreaming is not a wholly organic process, because usually the people who get mainstreamed are actively working to become so. But people usually have only so much control over how and how fast this happens: A group expands its language and visibility; if this leads to larger numbers and greater mainstream acceptance, the process repeats, this time with a bigger group and a bigger audience; so long as there is growth, each cycle is more impactful, as the bigger a group is the faster it gets even bigger and the more common language becomes the faster it proliferates.

By all rights, if your beliefs are wildly unpopular, this process shouldn’t work. Your language and visibility don’t expand because too many people don’t want to talk like you or about you. So what do you do then? Well, normally, you either give up or bide your time, but, if you have a lot of media literacy and no real moral compass, you get it done dirty.

If the media doesn’t want to cover you, make yourself newsworthy. Threaten to publicly out immigrants in front of a crowd. Start a hoax about white student unions. Lead a white power rally and leave the hoods at home. Do the kinds of things that journalists cannot, in good conscience, ignore. Once you’ve made yourself news, they’ll feel they can’t publish a condemnation without getting your side of the story, so, bam, you’ve got an interview. The more erratic and dangerous you seem, the more they’ll want to write a profile so people can figure you out; the article about how surprisingly normal you seem in person basically writes itself. If you want to spread a conspiracy theory, send it to a small, local news site that doesn’t have the resources to fact check you; once they publish something salacious, all the bigger news channels will have to talk about it, if only to debunk it. Put provocative stuff in front of politicians; anything they retweet has to be news. In a pinch, you can always piggyback off a famous activist by making takedown videos, or, if you’re really ambitious, harass someone at a conference.

Everyone’s desperate for clicks. If you can generate them, you’ll get your message out.

If nobody’s adopting your language, adopt it for them. Make sure you and all your friends each have half a dozen fake Twitter accounts spamming the same terminology at everyone who discusses race, gender, orientation, or ability. Put every Jewish name in parentheses until everyone on the internet knows what that means whether they want to or not. Hell, don’t even do it yourself: Russia’s not the only one who can make bots. Make thousands of bots. And make sure your real account, your fake accounts, and your bots all talk the same so no one can tell the difference anymore. Make hashtags and get them trending all by yourself, and, while you’re at it, spam all the hashtags for movements you hate with porn and gore so they can’t be used. And if your words and memes still aren’t popular? Just steal words and memes that are already popular. Just decide “this? this means white power now,” “this is antifeminist now.” Saturate the web with your new usage, always insisting that you’re doing it “ironically,” while eroding confidence in anyone who uses these words in the original sense. And never stop insisting that most everyone would talk the same as you if there weren’t so much damn censorship.

Delany’s experience was having few words to describe himself that could conjure images of a gay man in a loving community. What the Alt-Right does is shout “you just call everyone you don’t like Nazis” while their people are giving interviews wearing Nazi paraphernalia; they even imply that calling dudes marching to the tune of “Jews will not replace us” Nazis is somehow antisemitic. Meanwhile they ask to be called identitarians and race realists. They want to stigmatize words that conjure images of white fascism - which, again, they very explicitly support - and replace them with words that conjure images of clean-cut philosophy majors.

And where Delany saw a group of 80 or 90 gay men reported in the papers as a group of 4 or 5, the Alt-Right wants to get reported as being much larger than it actually is. They want to draw attention to themselves by any means necessary, up to and including violence, but to ensure that, any time the cameras train on a violent act, there is a man in a suit ready to distance himself from it; to paint the picture that, but for a few bad actors, this is a peaceful movement of young, presentable intellectuals.

This isn’t simply a battle between different ideologies, this is a battle over the definition of normal. The Alt-Right knows how plastic culture can be. Their anger comes from the normalization of things they hate, and their movement exists because they believe anything that becomes mainstream can be made fringe again. Which is why, if you wanna cater to them, you promise to reassert old norms.

Much as we’d like to believe people are driven by morality, most people are driven by the desire to be normal. And when the news is filled with images of swastikas, iron crosses, and tiki torches, the guy in the suit with the fashy haircut looks pretty normal by comparison. And that’s why he wears the suit.

Thankfully, the plasticity of culture cuts both ways. Just as surely as we can lose all the ground we’ve gained over the last half-century, everything the Alt-Right does to make itself palatable can be undone. (In fact, it’s maybe beginning to happen.) It’s going to be a long road that will probably require changes to how media platforms generate traffic and a lot of new politicians. But I want you to keep a phrase close to your heart: this is not normal.

That phrase has become something of a mantra since the election in 2016. It can be misused: white supremacy, sexism, and every other kind of bigotry are part of the fabric of American life and always have been, so, even if this is more extreme than the ushe, it’s not by nearly as much as most privileged people like to think. So I want you to treat it less like an observation and more as a statement of intent. Whatever shit the Alt-Right pulls, I want you to say: this is not normal; this is not normal; this is not normal.

We will not let this be normal.

[lazykoalacollectionblog]

Types of definitions in logic | Logical Reasoning Study Notes UGC NET

New Post has been published on https://ugcnetpaper1.com/types-of-definitions-in-logic/

Types of definitions in logic | Logical Reasoning Study Notes UGC NET

A question from this topic features in the exam paper every time. A definition or a concept is given and candidate has to choose the definition name to which it belongs. This  topic is sub topic of Locical Reasoning Syllabus and most of the time it has been skipped by Students ! 

Topics Based on UGC NET Syllabus of Logical Reasoning

Understanding the structure of arguments: argument forms, the structure of categorical propositions, Mood and Figure, Formal and Informal fallacies, Uses of language, Connotations and denotations of terms, Classical square of opposition.

Evaluating and distinguishing deductive and inductive reasoning.

Analogies.

Venn diagram: Simple and multiple uses for establishing the validity of arguments.

Indian Logic: Means of knowledge.

Pramanas: Pratyaksha (Perception), Anumana (Inference), Upamana(Comparison), Shabda (Verbal testimony), Arthapatti (Implication) and Anupalabddhi (Non-apprehension).

Structure and kinds of Anumana (inference), Vyapti (invariable relation), Hetvabhasas (fallacies of inference).

Types of definitions 

What is a definition?

A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term.

When writers are trying to explain an unfamiliar idea, they rely on definitions.

All definitions attempt to explain or clarify a term.

In mathematics, a definition is used to give a precise meaning to a new term, by describing a condition that unambiguously qualifies what a mathematical term is and is not.

Definitions and axioms form the basis on which all of modern mathematics is to be constructed.

What is axiom ?

a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true .

So, A definition is made up of two parts :

DEFINIENDUM- term which is to be defined.

A word, phrase, or symbol which is the subject of a definition, especially in a dictionary entry, or which is introduced into a logical system by being defined .

DEFINIEN–  words used to define a term. 

The different types of definitions are given below –

Different Types of definition 

#1. Formal definition-

It is the definition which we generally see in the dictionary for a book, describing some particular characteristics of a concept things, or phenomenon. Such characteristics are used to familiarise reader with unknown terms.

A formal definition is based upon a concise, logical pattern that includes as much information as it can within a minimum amount of space .

Formal sentences components are the term being defined, the class it belongs to, and its distinguishing characteristics.

#2. Informal definition –

sometime a  known word in the form of antonyms and synonyms can be used for explaining something unknown.

Such definitions are introduced by “ like “ “also known as” or “in other words” extra these are used to familiarise a lesson on term with any other well-known related term. 

Having a relaxed, friendly, or unofficial style, manner, or nature.

Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with friends or family either in writing or in conversation.

#3. Extended definition –

An extended definition is a one or more paragraphs that attempt to explain a complex term. Some terms may be so important in your report, there may be so much confusion about them, or they may be so difficult to understand that an extended discussion is vital for the success of your report.

The extended definition can be formal or informal. As the name suggest these are used for explanation by including examples of listing familiar points, explaining concepts, historical references etc .

When you write reports, you may often discover that you need to explain certain basics before you can discuss the main subject matter.

For example:

In a report on new treatments for sickle cell anemia, you’d need a section defining the disease.

In a report on the benefits of drip irrigation, you’d need to write an extended definition of drip irrigation, explaining how it works and what equipment is used.

In a report showing small businesses how to weather economic recessions, an extended definition of the term economic recession would be needed first.

One of the first things to do when you write an extended definition is to compose the formal sentence definition of the term you are writing about. Place it toward the beginning of the extended definition.

It establishes the focus for the rest of the discussion. It is “formal” because it uses a certain form .

#4. Lexical definition  –

Its relating to the words or vocabulary of a language. 

The  lexical definition also known as the dictionary definition, is the closely matching the meaning of the term in common usage.

It is also known as reporting definition. 

According to Oxford English dictionary, lexical means relating to the words or vocabulary of a language. Does the lexical definition related to a words dictionary meaning of the meaning in the common vocabulary of language. It shows how the term is used in a language. It is difficult to change.

Lexical meanings are denotative meanings . 

Lexical meanings can’t be changed.

It is used to avoid ambiguity. 

It should be universal, never supporting any positive or negative aspects. 

As its other name implies, this is the sort of definition , one is likely to find in the dictionary. A lexical definition is usually the type expected from a request for definition, and it is generally expected that such a definition will be stated as simply as possible in order to convey information to the widest audience . 

The definition which reports the meaning of a word or a phrase as it is actually used by people is called a lexical definition. Meanings of words given in a dictionary are lexical definitions. As a word may have more than one meaning, it may also have more than one lexical definition.

Lexical definitions are either true or false. If the definition is the same as the actual use of the word then it is true, otherwise it is false . 

#5 Stipulative definition  –  

A stipulative definition is a type of definition in which a new or currently existing term is given a new specific meaning for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context . 

When the term already exists, this definition may, but does not necessarily, contradict the dictionary definition of the term.

It is the new meaning giving to an already existing term on meaning assigned to a new term.

It is arbitrary in nature .

A term can have different stipulative meaning at different places or among different people. 

For example some people use “LOL” for “lots of love” and some use it for “laughing out loud”. 

Idioms and slangs have stipulative meanings .

 The terms to prove stipulative definition is sometimes used to make a deliberately misleading definition.

 It is easy to change as it has a meaning in local language. 

When the stability of definition of a term that popular former y my get included in the dictionary and becomes a lexical definition.

For example:

Suppose we say that to love someone is to be willing to die for that person.

Take “human” to mean any member of the species Homo sapiens.

For the purposes of argument, we will define a “student” to be “a person under 18 enrolled in a local school”

#6 Persuasive definition  –

Such definitions favour  a particular view or an favour any view, but are presented in a neutral form. In such definitions ,  emotional, positive or derogatory meaning is attached to the term.

The term “persuasive definition” was introduced by philosopher Charles Stevenson as part of his emotive theory of meaning . 

It is usually used in discussions,  debates ,  etc to favour or unfavour particular  views.  For example  –  there can be different views on death penalty ,  those who are in favour will define it as Harsh punishment which will help in preventing heinous crimes and those who are not in its favour will define it as “legalized murder”. 

A persuasive definition is a form of stipulativedefinition which supports to describe the true or commonly accepted meaning of a term, while in reality stipulating an uncommon or altered use, usually to support an argument for some view, or to create or alter rights, duties or crimes.

Examples of persuasive definitions (definist fallacies) include:

Democrat – “a leftist who desires to overtax the corporations and abolish freedom in the economic sphere”.

Persuasive definitions commonly appear in controversial topics such as politics, sex, and religion, as participants in emotionally charged exchanges will sometimes become more concerned about swaying people to one side or another than expressing the unbiased facts.

#7 Parenthetical definition – 

Sometimes, for the sake of explanation we write the meanings of some words in parentheses in a sentence. Meaning of a difficult word mentioned in a few words in parentheses ( brackets) is known as parenthetical definition. 

Some times to understand better difficult words we write easy words or meaning  in brackets are called parenthetical meaning.

For example  – to understand meanings of arbitrariness we write in brackets to choose randomly or by chance . what ever we write in bracket for own understanding are called parenthetical definition.

Parenthetical phrase is an explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage. The parenthesis could be left out and still form grammatically correct text.

Parentheses are usually marked off by round or square brackets, dashes, or commas.

Billy-bob, a great singer, was not a good dancer. The phrase a great singer, set off by commas, is both an appositive and a parenthesis.

A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks. The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis.

My umbrella (which is somewhat broken) can still shield the two of us from the rain. The phrase which is somewhat broken is a parenthesis.

The following are examples of types of parenthetical phrases:

Introductory phrase: Once upon a time, my father ate a muffin.  

Interjection: My father ate the muffin, gosh damn it!

Aside: My father, if you don’t mind me telling you this, ate the muffin.

Appositive: My father, a jaded and bitter man, ate the muffin.

Absolute phrase: My father, his eyes flashing with rage, ate the muffin.

Free modifier: My father, chewing with unbridled fury, ate the muffin.

Resumptive modifier: My father ate the muffin, a muffin which no man had yet chewed.

Summative modifier: My father ate the muffin, a feat which no man had attempted.

While a parenthesis need not be written enclosed by the curved brackets called parentheses, their use, principally around rhetorical parentheses, has made the punctuation marks the only common use for the term in most contexts.

#8. Sentence definition-

such definitions are given in sentence forms , like ‘ computer is an electronic machine used to store , process and retrieve data. 

Here is the first part of definition  is ‘ computer the term itself , the next part- electronic machine , shows what it is , and the last part depicts the function of computer. 

 Sentence  is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

The sentence is generally defined as a word or a group of words that expresses a thorough idea by giving a sentence or order.

#9. Intention definition –

Such definitions specifiy the properties, features, meanings , and the necessary and sufficient conditions of a term.

For example – even numbers are the numbers divisible by two.

#10. Ostensive definition – 

literal meaning of ostensive is denoting a way of defining by direct demonstration, e.g. pointing .

In this type of definition, a term is described by showing the real objects; for example, showing banana, tulips, mangos, etc, to describe the yellow colour . 

An ostensive definition conveys the meaning of a term by pointing out examples.

This type of definition is often used where the term is difficult to define verbally, either because the words will not be understood (as with children and new speakers of a language) or because of the nature of the term (such as colors or sensations).

 It is usually accompanied with a gesture pointing to the object serving as an example, and for this reason is also often referred to as “definition by pointing”.

An ostensive definition assumes the questioner has sufficient understanding to recognize the type of information being given . 

SOLVED MCQ Question for practice 

Question 1 – Determine the nature of the following definition “abortion” means the ruthless murdering of innocent beings.

Lexical

Persuasive 

Stipulative 

Theoretical 

Answer- Persuasive

Solution – A persuasive definition is a form of stipulative definition which supports to describe the true or commonly accepted meaning  of a term, while in reality stipulating an uncommon or altered use, usually to support an argument for some view, or to create or alter rights, duties or crimes. 

Question 2 – when the conclusion of an argument follows from its premise conclusively, the argument is called

Circular argument

Inductive argument 

Deductive argument 

Analogical argument

Answer- Deductive argument

Solution– Deductive argument, also deductive logic, is the process of reasoning from one or more statements to reach a logical conclusion. Deductive reasoning goes in the same direction as that of the conditionals, and links premises with conclusions. 

Question 3- A stipulative definition may be said to be 

Always true

Always false

Sometime true, Sometime false

Neither true Neither false.

Answer-Sometime true, Sometime false

Solution- Stipulative definition is a type of definition in which a new or currently existing term is given a new specific meaning for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context . When the term already exists, this definition may, but does not necessarily, contradict the dictionary definition of the term.

Question 4. A definition put forward to resolve a dispute by influencing attitudes or stirring emotions is called

Lexical

Persuasive

Stipulative 

Precision 

Answer– Persuasive [See Above Notes]

Question 5 – A definition that has a meaning that is deliberately assigned to some symbol is called : 

Lexical 

Pressing

Stipulative 

Persuasive 

Answer– Stipulative [See Above Notes]

Solution already given in one of the  above question. 

[lazykoalacollectionblog]

Types of definitions in logic | Logical Reasoning Study Notes UGC NET

New Post has been published on https://ugcnetpaper1.com/types-of-definitions-in-logic/

Types of definitions in logic | Logical Reasoning Study Notes UGC NET

A question from this topic features in the exam paper every time. A definition or a concept is given and candidate has to choose the definition name to which it belongs. This  topic is sub topic of Locical Reasoning Syllabus and most of the time it has been skipped by Students ! 

Topics Based on UGC NET Syllabus of Logical Reasoning

Understanding the structure of arguments: argument forms, the structure of categorical propositions, Mood and Figure, Formal and Informal fallacies, Uses of language, Connotations and denotations of terms, Classical square of opposition.

Evaluating and distinguishing deductive and inductive reasoning.

Analogies.

Venn diagram: Simple and multiple uses for establishing the validity of arguments.

Indian Logic: Means of knowledge.

Pramanas: Pratyaksha (Perception), Anumana (Inference), Upamana(Comparison), Shabda (Verbal testimony), Arthapatti (Implication) and Anupalabddhi (Non-apprehension).

Structure and kinds of Anumana (inference), Vyapti (invariable relation), Hetvabhasas (fallacies of inference).

Types of definitions 

What is a definition?

A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term.

When writers are trying to explain an unfamiliar idea, they rely on definitions.

All definitions attempt to explain or clarify a term.

In mathematics, a definition is used to give a precise meaning to a new term, by describing a condition that unambiguously qualifies what a mathematical term is and is not.

Definitions and axioms form the basis on which all of modern mathematics is to be constructed.

What is axiom ?

a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true .

So, A definition is made up of two parts :

DEFINIENDUM- term which is to be defined.

A word, phrase, or symbol which is the subject of a definition, especially in a dictionary entry, or which is introduced into a logical system by being defined .

DEFINIEN–  words used to define a term. 

The different types of definitions are given below –

Different Types of definition 

#1. Formal definition-

It is the definition which we generally see in the dictionary for a book, describing some particular characteristics of a concept things, or phenomenon. Such characteristics are used to familiarise reader with unknown terms.

A formal definition is based upon a concise, logical pattern that includes as much information as it can within a minimum amount of space .

Formal sentences components are the term being defined, the class it belongs to, and its distinguishing characteristics.

#2. Informal definition –

sometime a  known word in the form of antonyms and synonyms can be used for explaining something unknown.

Such definitions are introduced by “ like “ “also known as” or “in other words” extra these are used to familiarise a lesson on term with any other well-known related term. 

Having a relaxed, friendly, or unofficial style, manner, or nature.

Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with friends or family either in writing or in conversation.

#3. Extended definition –

An extended definition is a one or more paragraphs that attempt to explain a complex term. Some terms may be so important in your report, there may be so much confusion about them, or they may be so difficult to understand that an extended discussion is vital for the success of your report.

The extended definition can be formal or informal. As the name suggest these are used for explanation by including examples of listing familiar points, explaining concepts, historical references etc .

When you write reports, you may often discover that you need to explain certain basics before you can discuss the main subject matter.

For example:

In a report on new treatments for sickle cell anemia, you’d need a section defining the disease.

In a report on the benefits of drip irrigation, you’d need to write an extended definition of drip irrigation, explaining how it works and what equipment is used.

In a report showing small businesses how to weather economic recessions, an extended definition of the term economic recession would be needed first.

One of the first things to do when you write an extended definition is to compose the formal sentence definition of the term you are writing about. Place it toward the beginning of the extended definition.

It establishes the focus for the rest of the discussion. It is “formal” because it uses a certain form .

#4. Lexical definition  –

Its relating to the words or vocabulary of a language. 

The  lexical definition also known as the dictionary definition, is the closely matching the meaning of the term in common usage.

It is also known as reporting definition. 

According to Oxford English dictionary, lexical means relating to the words or vocabulary of a language. Does the lexical definition related to a words dictionary meaning of the meaning in the common vocabulary of language. It shows how the term is used in a language. It is difficult to change.

Lexical meanings are denotative meanings . 

Lexical meanings can’t be changed.

It is used to avoid ambiguity. 

It should be universal, never supporting any positive or negative aspects. 

As its other name implies, this is the sort of definition , one is likely to find in the dictionary. A lexical definition is usually the type expected from a request for definition, and it is generally expected that such a definition will be stated as simply as possible in order to convey information to the widest audience . 

The definition which reports the meaning of a word or a phrase as it is actually used by people is called a lexical definition. Meanings of words given in a dictionary are lexical definitions. As a word may have more than one meaning, it may also have more than one lexical definition.

Lexical definitions are either true or false. If the definition is the same as the actual use of the word then it is true, otherwise it is false . 

#5 Stipulative definition  –  

A stipulative definition is a type of definition in which a new or currently existing term is given a new specific meaning for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context . 

When the term already exists, this definition may, but does not necessarily, contradict the dictionary definition of the term.

It is the new meaning giving to an already existing term on meaning assigned to a new term.

It is arbitrary in nature .

A term can have different stipulative meaning at different places or among different people. 

For example some people use “LOL” for “lots of love” and some use it for “laughing out loud”. 

Idioms and slangs have stipulative meanings .

 The terms to prove stipulative definition is sometimes used to make a deliberately misleading definition.

 It is easy to change as it has a meaning in local language. 

When the stability of definition of a term that popular former y my get included in the dictionary and becomes a lexical definition.

For example:

Suppose we say that to love someone is to be willing to die for that person.

Take “human” to mean any member of the species Homo sapiens.

For the purposes of argument, we will define a “student” to be “a person under 18 enrolled in a local school”

#6 Persuasive definition  –

Such definitions favour  a particular view or an favour any view, but are presented in a neutral form. In such definitions ,  emotional, positive or derogatory meaning is attached to the term.

The term “persuasive definition” was introduced by philosopher Charles Stevenson as part of his emotive theory of meaning . 

It is usually used in discussions,  debates ,  etc to favour or unfavour particular  views.  For example  –  there can be different views on death penalty ,  those who are in favour will define it as Harsh punishment which will help in preventing heinous crimes and those who are not in its favour will define it as “legalized murder”. 

A persuasive definition is a form of stipulativedefinition which supports to describe the true or commonly accepted meaning of a term, while in reality stipulating an uncommon or altered use, usually to support an argument for some view, or to create or alter rights, duties or crimes.

Examples of persuasive definitions (definist fallacies) include:

Democrat – “a leftist who desires to overtax the corporations and abolish freedom in the economic sphere”.

Persuasive definitions commonly appear in controversial topics such as politics, sex, and religion, as participants in emotionally charged exchanges will sometimes become more concerned about swaying people to one side or another than expressing the unbiased facts.

#7 Parenthetical definition – 

Sometimes, for the sake of explanation we write the meanings of some words in parentheses in a sentence. Meaning of a difficult word mentioned in a few words in parentheses ( brackets) is known as parenthetical definition. 

Some times to understand better difficult words we write easy words or meaning  in brackets are called parenthetical meaning.

For example  – to understand meanings of arbitrariness we write in brackets to choose randomly or by chance . what ever we write in bracket for own understanding are called parenthetical definition.

Parenthetical phrase is an explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage. The parenthesis could be left out and still form grammatically correct text.

Parentheses are usually marked off by round or square brackets, dashes, or commas.

Billy-bob, a great singer, was not a good dancer. The phrase a great singer, set off by commas, is both an appositive and a parenthesis.

A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks. The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis.

My umbrella (which is somewhat broken) can still shield the two of us from the rain. The phrase which is somewhat broken is a parenthesis.

The following are examples of types of parenthetical phrases:

Introductory phrase: Once upon a time, my father ate a muffin.  

Interjection: My father ate the muffin, gosh damn it!

Aside: My father, if you don’t mind me telling you this, ate the muffin.

Appositive: My father, a jaded and bitter man, ate the muffin.

Absolute phrase: My father, his eyes flashing with rage, ate the muffin.

Free modifier: My father, chewing with unbridled fury, ate the muffin.

Resumptive modifier: My father ate the muffin, a muffin which no man had yet chewed.

Summative modifier: My father ate the muffin, a feat which no man had attempted.

While a parenthesis need not be written enclosed by the curved brackets called parentheses, their use, principally around rhetorical parentheses, has made the punctuation marks the only common use for the term in most contexts.

#8. Sentence definition-

such definitions are given in sentence forms , like ‘ computer is an electronic machine used to store , process and retrieve data. 

Here is the first part of definition  is ‘ computer the term itself , the next part- electronic machine , shows what it is , and the last part depicts the function of computer. 

 Sentence  is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

The sentence is generally defined as a word or a group of words that expresses a thorough idea by giving a sentence or order.

#9. Intention definition –

Such definitions specifiy the properties, features, meanings , and the necessary and sufficient conditions of a term.

For example – even numbers are the numbers divisible by two.

#10. Ostensive definition – 

literal meaning of ostensive is denoting a way of defining by direct demonstration, e.g. pointing .

In this type of definition, a term is described by showing the real objects; for example, showing banana, tulips, mangos, etc, to describe the yellow colour . 

An ostensive definition conveys the meaning of a term by pointing out examples.

This type of definition is often used where the term is difficult to define verbally, either because the words will not be understood (as with children and new speakers of a language) or because of the nature of the term (such as colors or sensations).

 It is usually accompanied with a gesture pointing to the object serving as an example, and for this reason is also often referred to as “definition by pointing”.

An ostensive definition assumes the questioner has sufficient understanding to recognize the type of information being given . 

SOLVED MCQ Question for practice 

Question 1 – Determine the nature of the following definition “abortion” means the ruthless murdering of innocent beings.

Lexical

Persuasive 

Stipulative 

Theoretical 

Answer- Persuasive

Solution – A persuasive definition is a form of stipulative definition which supports to describe the true or commonly accepted meaning  of a term, while in reality stipulating an uncommon or altered use, usually to support an argument for some view, or to create or alter rights, duties or crimes. 

Question 2 – when the conclusion of an argument follows from its premise conclusively, the argument is called

Circular argument

Inductive argument 

Deductive argument 

Analogical argument

Answer- Deductive argument

Solution– Deductive argument, also deductive logic, is the process of reasoning from one or more statements to reach a logical conclusion. Deductive reasoning goes in the same direction as that of the conditionals, and links premises with conclusions. 

Question 3- A stipulative definition may be said to be 

Always true

Always false

Sometime true, Sometime false

Neither true Neither false.

Answer-Sometime true, Sometime false

Solution- Stipulative definition is a type of definition in which a new or currently existing term is given a new specific meaning for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context . When the term already exists, this definition may, but does not necessarily, contradict the dictionary definition of the term.

Question 4. A definition put forward to resolve a dispute by influencing attitudes or stirring emotions is called

Lexical

Persuasive

Stipulative 

Precision 

Answer– Persuasive [See Above Notes]

Question 5 – A definition that has a meaning that is deliberately assigned to some symbol is called : 

Lexical 

Pressing

Stipulative 

Persuasive 

Answer– Stipulative [See Above Notes]

Solution already given in one of the  above question.