So are you saying that although the distinction between the two versions of the “liar” phrase is 100-1000x bigger than between the due to/for distinction, it is still not tremendously important?
As a single point of evidence: it’s immediately obvious to me what the difference is between “X is true” and “I think X” (for starters, note that these two sentences have different subjects, with the former’s subject being “X” and the latter’s being “I”). On the other hand, “you A’d someone due to their B’ing” and “you A’d someone for B’ing” do, actually, sound synonymous to me—and although I’m open to the idea that there’s a distinction I’m missing here (just as there might be people to whom the first distinction is invisible), from where I currently stand, the difference between the first pair of sentences looks, not just 10x or 1000x bigger, but infinitely bigger than the difference between the second, because the difference between the second is zero.
(And if you accept that [the difference between the second pair of phrases is zero], then yes, it’s quite possible for some other difference to be massively larger than that, and yet not be tremendously important.)
Here, I do think that Duncan is doing something different from even the typical LWer, in that he—so far as I can tell—spends much more time and effort talking about these fine-grained distinctions than do others, in a way that I think largely drags the conversation in unproductive directions; but I also think that in this context, where the accusation is that he “splits hairs” too much, it is acceptable for him to double down on the hair-splitting and point that, actually, no, he only splits those hairs that are actually splittable.
On the other hand, “you A’d someone due to their B’ing” and “you A’d someone for B’ing” do, actually, sound synonymous to me—and although I’m open to the idea that there’s a distinction I’m missing here
With the caveat that I think this sort of “litigation of minutiae of nuance” is of very limited utility[1], I am curious: would you consider “you A’d someone as a consequence of their B’ing” different from both the other two forms? Synonymous with them both? Synonymous with one but not the other?
With the caveat that I think this sort of “litigation of minutiae of nuance” is of very limited utility
Yeah, I think I probably agree.
would you consider “you A’d someone as a consequence of their B’ing” different from both the other two forms? Synonymous with them both? Synonymous with one but not the other?
Synonymous as far as I can tell. (If there’s an actual distinction in your view, which you’re currently trying to lead me to via some kind of roundabout, Socratic pathway, I’d appreciate skipping to the part where you just tell me what you think the distinction is.)
(If there’s an actual distinction in your view, which you’re currently trying to lead me to via some kind of roundabout, Socratic pathway, I’d appreciate skipping to the part where you just tell me what you think the distinction is.)
I had no such intention. It’s just that we already know that I think that X and Y seem like different things, and you think X and Y seem like the same thing, and since X and Y are the two forms which actually appeared in the referenced argument, there’s not much further to discuss, except to satisfy curiosity about the difference in our perceptions (which inquiry may involve positing some third thing Z). That’s really all that my question was about.
In case you are curious in turn—personally, I’d say that “you A’d someone as a consequence of their B’ing” seems to me to be the same as “you A’d someone due to their B’ing”, but different from “you A’d someone for their B’ing”. As far as characterizing the distinction, I can tell you only that the meaning I, personally, was trying to convey was the difference in what sort of rule or principle was being applied. (See, for instance, the difference between “I shot him for breaking into my house” and “I shot him because he broke into my house”. The former implies a punishment imposed as a judgment for a transgression, while the latter can easily include actions taken in self-defense or defense of property, or even unintentional actions.)
But, as I said, there is probably little point in pursuing this inquiry further.
Yeah. One is small, and the other is tiny. The actual comment that the anonymous person is mocking/castigating said:
I note (while acknowledging that this is a small and subtle distinction, but claiming that it is an important one nonetheless) that I said that I now categorize Said as a liar, which is an importantly and intentionally weaker claim than Said is a liar, i.e. “everyone should be able to see that he’s a liar” or “if you don’t think he’s a liar you are definitely wrong.”
(This is me in the past behaving in line with the points I just made under Said’s comment, about not confusing [how things seem to me] with [how they are] or [how they do or should seem to others].)
This is much much closer to saying “Liar!” than it is to not saying “Liar!” … if one is to round me off, that’s the correct place to round me off to. But it is still a rounding.
So are you saying that although the distinction between the two versions of the “liar” phrase is 100-1000x bigger than between the due to/for distinction, it is still not tremendously important?
As a single point of evidence: it’s immediately obvious to me what the difference is between “X is true” and “I think X” (for starters, note that these two sentences have different subjects, with the former’s subject being “X” and the latter’s being “I”). On the other hand, “you A’d someone due to their B’ing” and “you A’d someone for B’ing” do, actually, sound synonymous to me—and although I’m open to the idea that there’s a distinction I’m missing here (just as there might be people to whom the first distinction is invisible), from where I currently stand, the difference between the first pair of sentences looks, not just 10x or 1000x bigger, but infinitely bigger than the difference between the second, because the difference between the second is zero.
(And if you accept that [the difference between the second pair of phrases is zero], then yes, it’s quite possible for some other difference to be massively larger than that, and yet not be tremendously important.)
Here, I do think that Duncan is doing something different from even the typical LWer, in that he—so far as I can tell—spends much more time and effort talking about these fine-grained distinctions than do others, in a way that I think largely drags the conversation in unproductive directions; but I also think that in this context, where the accusation is that he “splits hairs” too much, it is acceptable for him to double down on the hair-splitting and point that, actually, no, he only splits those hairs that are actually splittable.
With the caveat that I think this sort of “litigation of minutiae of nuance” is of very limited utility[1], I am curious: would you consider “you A’d someone as a consequence of their B’ing” different from both the other two forms? Synonymous with them both? Synonymous with one but not the other?
I find that I am increasingly coming around to @Vladimir_Nesov’s stance on nuance.
Yeah, I think I probably agree.
Synonymous as far as I can tell. (If there’s an actual distinction in your view, which you’re currently trying to lead me to via some kind of roundabout, Socratic pathway, I’d appreciate skipping to the part where you just tell me what you think the distinction is.)
I had no such intention. It’s just that we already know that I think that X and Y seem like different things, and you think X and Y seem like the same thing, and since X and Y are the two forms which actually appeared in the referenced argument, there’s not much further to discuss, except to satisfy curiosity about the difference in our perceptions (which inquiry may involve positing some third thing Z). That’s really all that my question was about.
In case you are curious in turn—personally, I’d say that “you A’d someone as a consequence of their B’ing” seems to me to be the same as “you A’d someone due to their B’ing”, but different from “you A’d someone for their B’ing”. As far as characterizing the distinction, I can tell you only that the meaning I, personally, was trying to convey was the difference in what sort of rule or principle was being applied. (See, for instance, the difference between “I shot him for breaking into my house” and “I shot him because he broke into my house”. The former implies a punishment imposed as a judgment for a transgression, while the latter can easily include actions taken in self-defense or defense of property, or even unintentional actions.)
But, as I said, there is probably little point in pursuing this inquiry further.
Gotcha. Thanks for explaining, in any case; I appreciate it.
Yeah. One is small, and the other is tiny. The actual comment that the anonymous person is mocking/castigating said: