Is that the definition of a sandwich, or is there something about ‘sanwhich’ that transcends its constituent parts? Could ‘sandwich’ be a cluster of different properties that, when considered as a whole, become ‘sandwhich’? I think to get to the heart of this ‘sandwhich’ question, we need not look at the sandwhich but instead at ‘cake’. What is ‘cake’ and do those propertie exclude sandwhich? What common aspects do cake and sandwhich have, and are both of those elements essential?
Words aren’t isomorphic to their dictionary definitions—words had commonly-accepted meanings long before the existence of dictionaries. Dictionary definitions are just an attempt to come up with a heuristic for identifying things as instances of the term in question, but they’re never perfect—and the real-world usage is ontologically prior.
If the dictionary definition of sandwich fails to distinguish cakes from sandwiches, it’s just an imperfect definition (like all definitions are)—and we can leave it at that.
Is that the definition of a sandwich, or is there something about ‘sanwhich’ that transcends its constituent parts? Could ‘sandwich’ be a cluster of different properties that, when considered as a whole, become ‘sandwhich’? I think to get to the heart of this ‘sandwhich’ question, we need not look at the sandwhich but instead at ‘cake’. What is ‘cake’ and do those propertie exclude sandwhich? What common aspects do cake and sandwhich have, and are both of those elements essential?
Words aren’t isomorphic to their dictionary definitions—words had commonly-accepted meanings long before the existence of dictionaries. Dictionary definitions are just an attempt to come up with a heuristic for identifying things as instances of the term in question, but they’re never perfect—and the real-world usage is ontologically prior.
If the dictionary definition of sandwich fails to distinguish cakes from sandwiches, it’s just an imperfect definition (like all definitions are)—and we can leave it at that.
Alright, so is a cake a sandwich?