PHI 1101 Lecture Notes - Stipulative Definition, Circular Definition

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Laura Byrne

Document Summary

Critical thinking (phi 1101 c) unit 2: meaning and definition. The sense of a word is what we understand when we understand the meaning. For example, the sense of the word bachelor is an unmarried male. Sense is also sometimes called connotation or intension. The reference of a term is the class of things to which the word refers; the things to which the concept points. For example, the reference of the word bachelor is the class of bachelors who exist in the universe now, and who will exist in the past and future. For example spam can either be edible or electronic. These definitions are intended to describe the essential nature of something; there is no guarantee that the standard usage of a term will reflect a correct understanding of its essence. A good reportive definition will accurately describe the actual standard usage of the term.