As are horseshoes, which are not made any which way. — StreetlightX
Whether someone calls it a "horseshoe" or not depends on their individual concept. It's simply a matter of what they personally require to call something a "horseshoe." — Terrapin Station
As long as what to you is my face I call a horseshoe, then my concept about what a horseshoe is is correct? — Noah Te Stroete
So people need not agree on what a horseshoe is? There is no collective knowledge? I’m sure I misunderstand you, and that’s not what you’re saying — Noah Te Stroete
You actually make sense here — Noah Te Stroete
Concepts have generally true or false values, otherwise communication would fail more often than it does. — Noah Te Stroete
Obviously I don't agree with that (and not just because I think that communication often does fail--hence your surprise that I make sense), but it's a huge thing to get into different theories about how communication works. — Terrapin Station
This is now far afield of the OP, but I will just say that the vast majority of concepts have generally true or false values. Communication fails when one or both interlocutors are wrong about concepts used. ‘Cat’, ‘chair’, ‘normative ethics’, ‘sun’, ‘Dow Jones Industrials Index’ all have correct usages. Communication fails when these concepts are used incorrectly. — Noah Te Stroete
What do you take to be correct, just conformity to the norm? — Terrapin Station
side from pro-conformism sucking in my opinion (:joke:), that's an argumentum ad populum fallacy then. — Terrapin Station
It’s not an argument. It’s a description. — Noah Te Stroete
It’s not an argument. It’s a description. — Noah Te Stroete
Claiming that something is correct because it's common is an argumentum ad populum. — Terrapin Station
I’m claiming that’s how it works in practice. That that is how it works in practice is a true description. — Noah Te Stroete
Claiming that something is correct because it's common is an argumentum ad populum. — Terrapin Station
There are correct uses of concepts determined by a community of users. If the users didn’t have a general correct use for concepts, then communication would be impossible. — Noah Te Stroete
This is a regularly occurring misunderstanding on your part. He did not commit the fallacy of appealing to the masses. — S
He just said that what makes itcorrect is consensus usage. That's what the argumentum ad populum fallacy is. (And that's what it is in consensus usage, so if you believe that makes something correct, you'll not disagree.) — Terrapin Station
the obvious problem with that, however, are those cases which are in fact exceptions to the fallacy — S
The problem is that there are no exceptions. The only time the consensus opinion is relevant and not fallacious is when we want to know what the consensus opinion happens to be, but that never makes the consensus opinion correct. — Terrapin Station
“Correct” as in that it works. A concept’s use is correct when used in a way that people understand one another — Noah Te Stroete
Do you get my meaning? If so, then what’s the problem? — Noah Te Stroete
The problem is that there are no exceptions. The only time the consensus opinion is relevant and not fallacious is when we want to know what the consensus opinion happens to be, but that never makes the consensus opinion correct (by virtue of being the consensus opinion). — Terrapin Station
Because ey don't identify as being male or female, and, so, it is not correct to subjectify them as either. — thewonder
It does if that's the criterion for correctness. And of course there are exceptions. There are plenty of exceptions. — S
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