3.8: Glossary

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Bradley H. Dowden
California State University Sacramento

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ambiguity A type of imprecision; a term or phrase is ambiguous if the context cannot be used to sufficiently rule out all the term's possible meanings but one.

ambiguous definition A definition that expresses the meaning ambiguously.

broad definition A term's definition that would permit too many things to be called by that term.

circular definition Using the term to be defined as part of the term's own definition.

comparison class The class of things a comparison is being made among.

context The sentence that a word or phrase occurs in, plus the surrounding sentences, the situation in which the sentences are used, the time, the identity of the speaker, and even the speaker's body language.

definition by example Defining a term by indicating examples of things appropriately named by that term.

disambiguation Using context and one's background knowledge to detect the intended interpretation (meaning) of a phrase with multiple possible interpretations and thereby remove the potential ambiguity.

equivocation Illegitimately switching from one meaning of a term to another on different occasions, or simply using one term that has two meanings, and the context cannot readily be used to rule out all but one meaning.

general terms Terms that refer to a class of objects. For example, Sherlock Holmes is a specific term; detective is a general term. Human being is even more general.

generalization A statement containing a general term, usually as its subject. For example, the statement "Politicians have aggressive personalities" is a generalization about the class of politicians. Generalizations explicitly or implicitly use quantity terms to attribute properties. In our example, the quantity term all is implicit or unstated.

inconsistent definition A definition that expresses the meaning inconsistently.

lexical definition A dictionary definition.

narrow definition A term's definition that would permit too few things to be called by that term.

non-universal generalization A generalization that does not require the property to apply to every member of the class. For example, saying "Most stars are not surrounded by life-sustaining planets" is a general statement about stars, but it is non-universal because the quantity term is not all (or an equivalent) but most.

operational definition A definition given by stating an operation or method to follow in deciding whether the term applies.

operationalization The operation or method used to tell whether a term applies in a particular context.

ostensive definition A definition by example offered by a speaker who indicates the example by pointing.

overly vague definition A definition that expresses the meaning too vaguely.

persuasive definition A definition that could be used to persuade the hearer to take a particular stand on an otherwise controversial issue. A definition that is not objective.

precising definition A definition that makes the meaning more precise.

pseudoprecision A claim is pseudoprecise if it assigns a higher degree of precision than circumstances warrant. It occurs whenever a number is placed on some property that an object has when (1) the property cannot be quantified, or (2) the object cannot have the property to that degree of precision, or (3) the object could have the property to that degree of precision but the person is not justified in claiming that much precision.

quantify To put a number on something in order to measure it.

quantity term A term assigning a quantity to a class. Examples: 17, each, every, most, all, some, and no.

semantic disagreement A disagreement about meaning; also called a verbal disagreement. Clarifying terms can resolve a semantic disagreement.

specific term A word or phrase that refers to a single object rather than to a class of objects. For example, Madonna is specific, but woman is general.

statement What a speaker or writer states. Uttering a declarative sentence is the usual way to make a statement.

statistical generalization A generalization whose quantity term is a percentage or statistic.

stipulative definition Stipulating how a term will be used from now on. Coining a term.

universal generalization A generalization that applies a property to every member of the class that is being generalized about. For example, saying "All Americans are rich" applies the property of being rich to every member of the class "Americans." Universal generalizations are sometimes called categorical generalizations.

vagueness Fuzziness of meaning. For example, the word closer is vague (but not ambiguous) in the sentence "Step closer." Vagueness is not always an obstacle to good communication. The vague remark “Step closer” is precise enough in response to the question, "Did you say to step back or step closer?"

weasler A weasel phrase that is inserted into a claim to make it harder to criticize or refute. You are a weasel if you place an ad saying “You can make up to $30 per hour” when you don’t intend to pay over $8 per hour nor give anyone more than $15 per hour even if they work for you all their life.

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