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Kuhn, Quine & Chomsky...

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Some of us may have felt recently that our study of Chinese medicine

had not prepared us well for the intellectual rigors of the Chinese

Herb Academy. For those as perplexed as I was, here are some

definitions of terms that may help -- or may not.

 

kuhn, n. A fox often mistaken for a hedgehog; it is usually attended

by such a commotion that it appears more than twice as heavy as it

really is.

 

quine, v. (1) To deny resolutely the existence of importance of

something real or significant. " Some philosophers have quined

classes, and some have even quined physical objects. " Occasionally

used intr., e.g., " You think I quine, sir. I assure you I do not! "

(2) n. The total aggregate sensory surface of the world; hence

quinitis, irritation of the quine.

 

chomsky, adj. Said of a theory that draws extravagant metaphysical

implications from scientifically established facts. " Essentially,

Hume's criticism of the Argument from Design is that it leads in all

its forms to blatantly chomsky conclusions. " " The conclusions drawn

from Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle are not only on average

chomskier than those drawn from Godel's theorem; most of them are

downright merleau-ponty. "

 

merleau-ponty, adj. In the wrong order, with confused foundations,

said of a theory; figurative synonyms are upside-down, topsy-turvy,

front-to-back. " The sense-datum approach to certainty was all

merleau-ponty in the first place. "

 

All this comes from a most helpful online reference:

 

http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/lexicon/

 

 

--

 

 

 

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