Let’s talk street signs. Let’s say a sign represents a term. In order to simplify this, we’ll name the street for now Washington Street.
Washington Street in the context of Chicago is different from the context of Mead, Kansas, but it is still a street. It may look quite simple in Kansas, have little traffic, etc., but it is still called Washington and is still a street. While the context has changed, there are a couple of things that have made it the same or at least similar–its name and its “streetness.”
Now, let’s mix this up a little bit. How about we change the name of Chestnut Street to Washington Street and give Washington Street the name Chestnut Street. Would anbody become confused with that proposition? It is likely that the people who live on those streets would still know how to get home, but what about people who are not as familiar with those streets but would still like to find their family or friends who live there? What if they only have the memory of the name of the street before it moved, and they come back, lost and totally confused? It is either that or give them a map with both names, the old and new so that they can still find their friends and family.
How about this? What if we call Chestnut and Washington streets both by the name of Washington? I tell you I live at 222 Washington Street just as another person does, but we don’t live together or on the same street. These streets are a couple of blocks apart. Our streets are just named the same thing. One thing to think about here, are those two streets and their contexts the same? Is the context of my 222 Washington the same as the other person’s 222 Washington? I have lots of trees and neighbors, but the other person lives right by the local water treatment facility. How would people find me, especially if they think there is only one street named Washington? By this point, why don’t we call all streets Washington to add to the confusion?
One more. Let’s call all the STOP signs on Mulberry Washington. Do people get to do whatever they want when they arrive at an intersection since all they see is Washington? What does Washington mean? Do people need to see STOP to know when and where to stop, or will they be able to guess, and can they trust that everyone else will guess correctly, too?
Okay, I lied. I have another. I suggest we call parallel lines intersections. Go to the intersection of Washington and Chestnut even though the two never meet. How long will it take you to find the intersection?
So, should we rename things to suit our whims, or should we venture out and search for the true meaning of the word?
If you go to another place (into another context), do you change meaning? If you have another name, do you become someone else? If you decided to call yourself Mollie but your name is Jeannie, do you become Mollie? What do you mean?
lamehousewife
My road and house number are duplicated in my town, only differing by the postcode, so i can relate. I get his mail occasionally and he gets mine – go figure !!!!
lol
I’m not sure whether you already know, but I nominated you for Blog of the Year on the 3rd, the 10th and also today, for a total of three stars. Details at http://theraineyview.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/another-star-for-me-thank-you/
Thank you raineyview! I will try to get to this as soon as I can. God bless…
In Usul al-fiqh, (principle of understanding) mention “changing the name do not change the essence of material/ content or context”.
So, the material/ context always overrule name. Example, we put a glass of water in top of table. We ask few people, some people said it was wine, some said calculator. Or culturally, people said it was rain or what so ever. The true meaning, it still just a glass of water.
As per your example, the road mention are still at the same longitude and latitude, the only change is a name. Even, name are change, the essence of location are still the same. Meaning if we are confuse or lost, longitude and latitude is our only hope for finding the right path
Once, we cross the culture, language border, the confusion will be increase. the only way to solve it, by referring to original text or history (longitude and latitude).
It was an interesting theology and being use widely in Islamic jurisprudence.
Thank you again, hifzan shafiee, for sharing your own knowledge about this. I find it very interesting because we can arrive at the same conclusion. We also believe that things do not change their meaning even if the name is changed. Here is a link http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05543b.htm which discusses the philosophies of Aristotle and Aquinas on this concept. I think many people are trying to change the meaning of words here, which will only cause a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. They think they can change the meaning of certain terms, but the meaning cannot change even if it has a new name.
I appreciate your comments on this philosophical search.