Comments on: Basis #2 Statements about statements about society http://www.xxory.com/2009/10/23/basis-2-statements-about-statements-about-society/ Pronounced 'Sorry' >> 'So many ideas and so little lifetime' please Vote X or ask Y Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:42:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John http://www.xxory.com/2009/10/23/basis-2-statements-about-statements-about-society/comment-page-1/#comment-5 John Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:23:20 +0000 http://www.xxory.com/?p=19#comment-5 Could this be a feature of all social facts? I'm thinking of some examples of John Searle's (you may know the Chinese Box Room thought experiment) from his 'The Construction of Social Reality'. Facts like 'X+Y are married', 'These discs are legal tender' or 'Obama is President' require a capacity for shared meanings. Might you be unable to know these facts as facts without knowing that others are able (at least in principle) to know them as well? Could this be a feature of all social facts? I’m thinking of some examples of John Searle’s (you may know the Chinese Box Room thought experiment) from his ‘The Construction of Social Reality’. Facts like ‘X+Y are married’, ‘These discs are legal tender’ or ‘Obama is President’ require a capacity for shared meanings. Might you be unable to know these facts as facts without knowing that others are able (at least in principle) to know them as well?

]]> By: Max Kanat-Alexander http://www.xxory.com/2009/10/23/basis-2-statements-about-statements-about-society/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Max Kanat-Alexander Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:02:08 +0000 http://www.xxory.com/?p=19#comment-3 So, this is an interesting point, but is it more about the communication of the idea or the idea itself? Because if we actually just used different sets of words (instead of putting "not" in front of words or repeating the same word) then the communication would be easier. Then, if the idea itself is too complex, then I'd say that's a problem in and of itself--that the basic solution would be to find a simpler idea that underlies it and can be understood and communicated more easily. -Max So, this is an interesting point, but is it more about the communication of the idea or the idea itself? Because if we actually just used different sets of words (instead of putting “not” in front of words or repeating the same word) then the communication would be easier.

Then, if the idea itself is too complex, then I’d say that’s a problem in and of itself–that the basic solution would be to find a simpler idea that underlies it and can be understood and communicated more easily.

-Max

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