From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!gatech!ncar!hsdndev!husc-news.harvard.edu!zariski!zeleny Thu Jan  9 10:33:59 EST 1992
Article 2545 of comp.ai.philosophy:
Xref: newshub.ccs.yorku.ca comp.ai.philosophy:2545 sci.philosophy.tech:1755 sci.logic:758
Path: newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!gatech!ncar!hsdndev!husc-news.harvard.edu!zariski!zeleny
>From: zeleny@zariski.harvard.edu (Mikhail Zeleny)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy,sci.philosophy.tech,sci.logic
Subject: Re: 'understanding'
Message-ID: <1992Jan8.112343.7222@husc3.harvard.edu>
Date: 8 Jan 92 16:23:42 GMT
References: <1992Jan7.191853.17310@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> <1992Jan7.162542.7202@husc3.harvard.edu> <1992Jan08.005939.10233@spss.com>
Organization: Dept. of Math, Harvard Univ.
Lines: 50
Nntp-Posting-Host: zariski.harvard.edu

In article <1992Jan08.005939.10233@spss.com> 
markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder) writes:

>In article <1992Jan7.162542.7202@husc3.harvard.edu> 
>zeleny@zariski.harvard.edu (Mikhail Zeleny) writes:

MZ:
>>Understanding is a faculty of grasping with the mind the concept or
>>proposition that constitutes the cognitive content of a singular term or a
>>declarative sentence, in virtue of expressing which the term or sentence
>>can be said to be meaningful, and may denote a certain object or a
>>truth-value.  This definition, like all other attemps at real definition,
>>is theory-laden, and should be handled with great care.

MR:
>Could you also please supply your definitions of "grasping" and "concept"? 
>
>Is the clause beginning "in virtue of..." intended to be restrictive
>or merely informational?  If the former, what is "meaningful"?
>
>Why "may" in "may denote"?  Do you mean the term may denote something
>besides an object or a truth-value, or that it may not denote anything at all?

OK.

Understanding is a faculty of grasping, or apprehending with the mind the
concept or proposition that constitutes the sense, i.e. the cognitive
content of a singular term or a declarative sentence.  The sense is an
abstract entity, in virtue of expressing which the term or sentence can be
said to be meaningful, i.e. capable of being understood; furthermore, it
determines the object or truth-value denoted by the term or the sentence,
provided that it denotes anything at all.  Mental apprehension of abstract
objects is taken to be a noumenal analogue of phenomenal perception of
material objects; in particular, it is corrigible by the subject, and not
necessarily transparent to awareness or closed under logical consequence.
Like all other attemps at real definition, the above definition is
theory-laden, and should be handled with great care.
  

`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'
: Qu'est-ce qui est bien?  Qu'est-ce qui est laid?         Harvard   :
: Qu'est-ce qui est grand, fort, faible...                 doesn't   :
: Connais pas! Connais pas!                                 think    :
:                                                             so     :
: Mikhail Zeleny                                                     :
: 872 Massachusetts Ave., Apt. 707                                   :
: Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139           (617) 661-8151            :
: email zeleny@zariski.harvard.edu or zeleny@HUMA1.BITNET            :
:                                                                    :
'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`


