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Class Notes link from University Page• Assignment #1 is due today• Next assignment will be posted soon• Today: ambiguity; vagueness, fallacies

Determine whether the following are meaningless, vague, Determine whether the following are meaningless, vague, or ambiguous. If they are vague or ambiguous, restate or ambiguous. If they are vague or ambiguous, restate them in a clear fashion.them in a clear fashion.

1. Al is bigger.2. Save soap and waste paper.3. Your term papers must be finished by Friday afternoon.4. Clean Up brand soap gets you cleaner than you ever

thought possible.5. We stand behind every bathtub we install.6. Come to the Main Street Health Center for unwanted

pregnancies.7. I have never read a student paper like yours.8. Nothing is too good for my friends.

• 1. vague 2. ambiguous 3. vague and ambiguous 4. ambiguous ( and maybe meaningless) 5. ambiguous 6. ambiguous 7. ambiguous 8. ambiguous

Looking at LanguageLooking at Language• argument: involves the attempt of rational persuasion

of one claim based on the evidence of other claims.• ways in which our uses of language can enhance or

degrade the quality of arguments:Part I: types and uses of definitions.Part II: how the improper use of language degrades the "weight" of premises.

5 Purposes of Definition:5 Purposes of Definition:1. To Increase Vocabulary2. To eliminate different uses of the same word3. To clarify meaning4. To explain theoretically (scientists, engineers, etc.)5. To influence attitudes.

4 Types of Definitions:4 Types of Definitions:• 1. Reportive or Lexical Definition• example: The word "mountain" means a large mass of

earth or rock rising to a considerable height above the surrounding country.

• This definition is true; that is, it is a true report of how English speaking people use the word "mountain."

On the other hand,

• The word "mountain" means a plane figure enclosed by three straight lines.

is a false definition, being a false report of how English speaking people use the word "mountain."

What to look out for:What to look out for:1. broadness of definition2. narrowness of definition3. obscure language in definiens4. circularity

2.2. Ostensive DefinitionsOstensive Definitions• Ostensive - to point out• weakness: learner has to guess how far to generalize

from the particular object being picked out in a single act of showing or pointing

• strength: it is the basic way to get outside of language in communicating meaning

3.3. StipulativeStipulative DefinitionsDefinitions• Stipulative definitions lay down the meaning of a new

word, often a technical term in a certain branch of inquiry, or a new meaning for an old word.

• Criticized with reference to the purpose with which the definition was introduced or intended.

4.4. Persuasive or Reforming DefinitionsPersuasive or Reforming Definitions• Lay down a precise meaning for terms that have

favourable or unfavourable connotations but nocommonly agreed precise meaning.

Outside of Ostensive definitions we see the following:

Does it lie within the bounds of usage? Are its normative implications acceptable?

Gives a precise meaning to a vague term with good or bad connotations.

Persuasive(Reforming)

Are the boundaries of application clear? Are its presuppositions true?

Lays down a meaning for a new term or a new meaning for an old one.

Stipulative

Does it accurately report the use of the term in that sense?

Reports meaning of a term in a "generally" accepted sense.

Reportive(Lexical)

QuestionsCriteriaName

1.1. AmbiguityAmbiguity• A term is ambiguous when it has 2 or more distinct

meanings in use.• example: When you get up in the morning, do you

make coffee in the coffee pot or in your pyjamas?• Always point out alternative possible interpretations and

resolve the ambiguity or indicate how one might resolve it.

• Consider: We know the carpenter went to Montréal with most of her tools, but we don't know whether she took the plane.

• Syntactic ambiguity -- arises out of structure• Semantic ambiguity -- arises out of meaning

• equivocation occurs when a speaker or writer tries to shift the meaning of a word or phrase in an objectionable way in an argument.

• eg. Defenders of civil disobedience hold that conscience is the ultimate guide about whether to obey the law, but they are clearly wrong. Law has to be the ultimate guide, because without law there could be no conscience: law is what conscience appeals to.

• law1 laws of the state i.e, civil law• law2 fundamental principles of morality i.e., the moral

law

2.2. Objectionable VaguenessObjectionable Vagueness• Words, expressions, and sentences are vague to the

extent that the boundaries of their application are unclear.

• example: The afternoon of December 11 is a very risky time for a Taurus to make major decisions.

Conditions for objectionable Vagueness:Conditions for objectionable Vagueness:• a. There is a grey area between situations to which

the term (expression, sentence) applies and situations to which it does not apply.

• b. It is important for assessing the passage in which the term (expression, sentence) occurs to settle to how much of the grey area it applies.

• That is, a statement or expression is objectionably vague in relation to a given audience on a given occasion, if it is not precise enough to tell that audience what it wants to know on that occasion.

SPECIES OF VAGUENESSSPECIES OF VAGUENESS• A. the term or expression is too general to supply the

information required or wanted for that purpose at hand. This situation requires something more specific than what is actually said.

• "Where did you go?" "Out."• "Where is Tuktoyaktuk?" "Up North."• "How old are you?" "Over 21."• "To the market." "On the Mackenzie River Delta."

"None of your business."

• B. Many words or expressions depend for their applicability on likeness to a paradigm. Examples include "democratic," "socialistic," "religious," and "freedom" to name a few. Or even genres of music pose certain problems for information gathering: there is no definition of, say, "jazz" that would help in settling the question of whether a given piece of music is jazz or not. SUFFICIENTLY SIMILAR TO A CLEAR CUT CASE

• Avoid by stipulating what is to count as, for example, democratic, religious, socialistic, or jazz.

3.3. Emotionally Charged or Loaded Emotionally Charged or Loaded Language and EuphemismLanguage and Euphemism

• Language with strong emotional tone (either positive or negative)

• Questions about tone:• 1. What emotional reactions and impressions are

being created by the choice of language and the format?• 2. Are these reactions and impressions warranted by

the information in the passage and its context?

Consider the example:Consider the example:• Background: Suppose Adams has presented a carefully

reasoned case for increased government funding of day care centres, and Wong opens his response to her remarks by saying:“I'm tired of listening to these man-hating, hairy-legged feminists whining and spouting their radical socialist ideas ...."

• This use of value laden language is called vituperative obfuscation. (vituperative: violent denunciation or condemnation. to obfuscate: to confuse or bewilder, or to make obscure) This use of language discourages reasoned argument and rational consideration of issues.

Examples:Examples:• Putting people in prison without trial is oppression.

Making people fearful of the government is oppression. Taxing people is oppression. Making children go to school is oppression. Having parents care for children is oppression. Every human society is based on some or all these practices. Therefore, every human society is based on oppression.

• Essentially the argument turns on the precise definition of "oppression." Unfortunately this definition is not made clear to the audience and, therefore, "oppression" occurs as a vague term in the passage.

• No legal system is sound if it ignores the facts of life. Sexual relations are facts of life we all must come to discover and regulate. Thus, our legal system is not sound unless it provides laws to regulate the sexual relations between people.

• The problem involved in this argument is the use of "facts of life." The author makes use of this term ambiguously:

• facts of life1: "No legal system is sound if it ignores the facts of life." In this sense, the author takes the term to refer to the socio-politico reality.

• facts of life2: "Sexual relations are facts of life..." In this instance the term is used to refer to facts regarding human reproduction.

• There is obviously a shift of meaning with respect to "facts of life" and, consequently, the author is guilty of equivocation.