Apples
Knives
Cuts
Concepts
Distinction
Intent
- are all just concepts. Practical tools to establish difference (itself, of
course, a concept - which is, of course, a construction). There is no light
at the end of that tunnel (which is, in this case, a metaphor - which is a
trope - which is, of course, a concept).
Language is a system of difference, balance, sloth, and much confusion. We
don't have to agree on the meaning of words and concepts. But in order to
arrive at meaningful dialogue, it is necessary put forward definitions of
core concepts, and rely on the good will of potential readers to balance out
potential misunderstanding of non-core concepts - this, in fact, is the
basic discourse of science. Which is a concept. And a construction. And a
very advanced form of sloth.
Comp. Lit. wasted nearly two decades fighting the windmills of the pure
signifier. Deconstruction had one good point: language is a manmade system.
As such it is bøvlet, as we say in Danish. Let us learn from Comp. Lit. and
cut the crab (which is a homonymy, a concept or an alien life-form -
depending on how you look at it).
Yours,
thomas
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