Chapter 4: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
2P10
Chapter 4: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
Identifying the precise meaning of key words or phrases is an essential step in deciding whether to agree with someone’s opinion. If you fail to check for the meaning of crucial terms and phrases, you may react to an opinion the author never intended You cannot react to an argument unless you understand the meanings (explicit or implied) of crucial terms and phrases -> how these are interpreted will often affect the acceptability of the reasoning Before you can determine the extent to which you wish to accept one conclusion or another, you must first attempt to discover the precise meaning of the conclusion and the reasons.
The Confusing Flexibility of Words
We often misunderstand what we read or hear because we presume that the meaning of words is obvious A term or phrase is ambiguous when its meaning is so uncertain in the context of the argument we are examining that we need further clarification before we can judge the adequacy of the reasoning Whenever you are reading or listening, force yourself to search for ambiguity; otherwise you may simply miss the point Because we rely on words to get our points across when we communicate, there is no way to avoid ambiguity o When someone is trying to persuade us to believe or do something, that person has a responsibility to clarify an potential ambiguity before we consider the worth of the reasoning
Locating Key Terms and Phrases
The first step in determining which terms of phrases are ambiguous is to use the stated issue as a clue for possible key terms o Key terms or phrases will be those terms that may have more than one plausible meaning within the context of the issue; that is, terms you know must be clarified before you can decide to agree or disagree with the communicator Ambiguity refers to the existence of multiple possible meanings for a word or phrases The next step in determining which terms or phrases are ambiguous is to identify what words or phrases seem crucial in determining how well the author’s reasons support her conclusion; that is, to identify the key terms in the reasoning structure. Once you locate these terms, you can determine whether their meaning is ambiguous When searching for key terms and phrases, you should keep in mind why you are looking Keep in mind: the more abstract a word or phrase, the more likely it is to be susceptible to multiple interpretations Abstract: a term becomes more abstract as it refers less to particular, specific instances (e.g. aggression, equality)
2P10
Use reverse role-playing to determine how someone might define certain words and phrases differently
Check for Ambiguity
One obstacle is assuming that you and the author mean the same thing A second obstacle is assuming that terms have a single, obvious definition An unclear important term would include o If you can express two or more alternative meanings for a term, each of which makes sense in the context of the argument, ad if the extent to which a reason would support a conclusion is affected by which meaning is assumed, then you have located a significant ambiguity o A good test for determining whether you have identified an important ambiguity is to substitute the alternative meanings into the reasoning structure and see whether changing the meaning makes a difference in how well a reason supports the conclusion
Context and Ambiguity
Context: the writer’s or speakers background, traditional uses of the term within the particular controversy, and the words and statements preceding and following the possible ambiguity o All three elements provide clues to the meaning of a potential key term or phrase
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary
To locate and clarify ambiguity, you must be aware of the possible meanings of words o Meanings usually come in one of three forms: synonyms, examples, and “definition by specific criteria” For critical evaluation of most controversial issues, synonyms and examples are inadequate -> they fail to tell you the specific properties that are crucial for unambiguous understanding of the term Definitions o Use dictionary -> not always adequate
Ambiguity and Loaded Language
Denotative meaning refers to the agreed-upon explicit descriptive referents for use of the word Connotative meaning is the emotional associations that we have to a term or phrase Political language is often loaded and ambiguous
Limits of your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity
It is your responsibility as an active learner to ask questions that clarify ambiguity
Chapter 4: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
Identifying the precise meaning of key words or phrases is an essential step in deciding whether to agree with someone’s opinion. If you fail to check for the meaning of crucial terms and phrases, you may react to an opinion the author never intended You cannot react to an argument unless you understand the meanings (explicit or implied) of crucial terms and phrases -> how these are interpreted will often affect the acceptability of the reasoning Before you can determine the extent to which you wish to accept one conclusion or another, you must first attempt to discover the precise meaning of the conclusion and the reasons.
The Confusing Flexibility of Words
We often misunderstand what we read or hear because we presume that the meaning of words is obvious A term or phrase is ambiguous when its meaning is so uncertain in the context of the argument we are examining that we need further clarification before we can judge the adequacy of the reasoning Whenever you are reading or listening, force yourself to search for ambiguity; otherwise you may simply miss the point Because we rely on words to get our points across when we communicate, there is no way to avoid ambiguity o When someone is trying to persuade us to believe or do something, that person has a responsibility to clarify an potential ambiguity before we consider the worth of the reasoning
Locating Key Terms and Phrases
The first step in determining which terms of phrases are ambiguous is to use the stated issue as a clue for possible key terms o Key terms or phrases will be those terms that may have more than one plausible meaning within the context of the issue; that is, terms you know must be clarified before you can decide to agree or disagree with the communicator Ambiguity refers to the existence of multiple possible meanings for a word or phrases The next step in determining which terms or phrases are ambiguous is to identify what words or phrases seem crucial in determining how well the author’s reasons support her conclusion; that is, to identify the key terms in the reasoning structure. Once you locate these terms, you can determine whether their meaning is ambiguous When searching for key terms and phrases, you should keep in mind why you are looking Keep in mind: the more abstract a word or phrase, the more likely it is to be susceptible to multiple interpretations Abstract: a term becomes more abstract as it refers less to particular, specific instances (e.g. aggression, equality)
2P10
Use reverse role-playing to determine how someone might define certain words and phrases differently
Check for Ambiguity
One obstacle is assuming that you and the author mean the same thing A second obstacle is assuming that terms have a single, obvious definition An unclear important term would include o If you can express two or more alternative meanings for a term, each of which makes sense in the context of the argument, ad if the extent to which a reason would support a conclusion is affected by which meaning is assumed, then you have located a significant ambiguity o A good test for determining whether you have identified an important ambiguity is to substitute the alternative meanings into the reasoning structure and see whether changing the meaning makes a difference in how well a reason supports the conclusion
Context and Ambiguity
Context: the writer’s or speakers background, traditional uses of the term within the particular controversy, and the words and statements preceding and following the possible ambiguity o All three elements provide clues to the meaning of a potential key term or phrase
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary
To locate and clarify ambiguity, you must be aware of the possible meanings of words o Meanings usually come in one of three forms: synonyms, examples, and “definition by specific criteria” For critical evaluation of most controversial issues, synonyms and examples are inadequate -> they fail to tell you the specific properties that are crucial for unambiguous understanding of the term Definitions o Use dictionary -> not always adequate
Ambiguity and Loaded Language
Denotative meaning refers to the agreed-upon explicit descriptive referents for use of the word Connotative meaning is the emotional associations that we have to a term or phrase Political language is often loaded and ambiguous
Limits of your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity
It is your responsibility as an active learner to ask questions that clarify ambiguity
