It seems inherent, that we assume that the other person "knows"; but, this is prone even to doubt and ambiguity about using that phrase.... Or stated, otherwise, how does one set up a schema to decrease the ambiguity of the word phrase "I know"? — Wallows
Sorry, I got the whole thread wrong. I meant to say, how does one eliminate the vagueness of that phrase? — Wallows
Is "I know..." truth-apt or not? — Wallows
When a person says, "I know", what do they really mean? — Wallows
Education teaches us, or at the highest levels, that vagueness is bad for academic writing.
So, it's also baked into the system of thought itself. — Wallows
As it stands, its meaning is set by convention. And as it stands, it seems to me, the truth of it is verified by evidence wrt some criteria, wrt a degree of satisfaction under those criteria. E.g., "I weigh 196 pounds," is arguably never, ever exactly true. . — tim wood
Have you considered asking said person? — StreetlightX
The problem you refer to lies within language itself. — A Seagull
Words inherently have a range of meanings. If I have an image in my mind that I am trying to communicate there are only a limited number of words that I can choose from (and even selecting an appropriate word is a complex process) and the final communication can only be a poor representation of the picture in my mind. — A Seagull
Does that help? — Wallows
Most people are not at all vague when they claim to know something. — StreetlightX
This thread is what happens when language goes on holiday. — StreetlightX
OK, so you're already assuming some pragmatic account of shared meaning, correct?
— Wallows
Absent that, nothing, not even noise, not even silence, not even gesture. — tim wood
What do you mean? — Wallows
I don't want to be rude, so I'd prefer not to. — StreetlightX
Well, it's not so much the limits at language, manifest in saying like "A picture is worth a thousand words"; but, rather, why the problem exists in the first place? Zooming out... — Wallows
But you're concerned with ambiguity, is that correct? I weigh 196 pounds. What is ambiguous about that? — tim wood
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