Meaning (was Re: virus: New Virus Page)

David McFadzean (david@lucifer.com)
Wed, 25 Feb 1998 10:03:21 -0700


At 11:11 PM 2/24/98 -0800, Tim Rhodes wrote:
>Are you saying that the `meaning' of the Holocaust was the creation of an
>independent Jewish nation?

Yes, That is part of the meaning because that is one of the effects.

To go into a bit more detail I think there are three types of meaning,
all related to cause and effect. If X means Y then one of three situations
is true:
1) X caused Y
2) X was intended to cause Y
3) X caused knowledge of Y

The first situation applies to your example with the holocaust, though
the true meaning of the Holocaust is the sum total of effects, not just
the formation of Israel.

The second situation is illustrated by "I didn't mean to hurt you" which
translates to "I didn't intend to cause your hurt".

The third (recently added) type of meaning is the kind in "a flag flown
at half mast means that someone important has died". Obviously (I hope)
the flag doesn't cause or intend to cause the death of the VIP, its
actual and intended effect is the knowledge the of death.

Are there any examples of the usage of "meaning" that doesn't fit into
one of these categories?

--
David McFadzean                 david@lucifer.com
Memetic Engineer                http://www.lucifer.com/~david/
Church of Virus                 http://www.lucifer.com/virus/