(not sure why the parent is so downvoted—it’s a bit abrasive, but on-topic and not terribly mean. ]
Maybe that’s because “chemicals” isn’t a natural category? I don’t really know what is meant by that word. It could be something about the manufacturing process. But possibly it just means “complicated words listed on the packaging” and nothing more.
I’m not sure I accept the concept “natural category”. In context of food shopping, there is a colloquial use of the term “chemical’ that is not precisely defined but used commonly enough to expect that one’s friends know mostly what is meant, and in context the edge-cases are irrelevant. “complicated words listed on the packaging” is actually pretty close.
I think many people forget that words don’t mean anything. People mean things and use words to convey that meaning. The shared experiences and expectations of what a person might mean by a given set of words is a relationship between the people, not between the words.
I’m fully behind your last point—both participants are free to leave. Both are free to ask the other to change, for that matter, and to complain on the internet.
(not sure why the parent is so downvoted—it’s a bit abrasive, but on-topic and not terribly mean. ]
I’m not sure I accept the concept “natural category”. In context of food shopping, there is a colloquial use of the term “chemical’ that is not precisely defined but used commonly enough to expect that one’s friends know mostly what is meant, and in context the edge-cases are irrelevant. “complicated words listed on the packaging” is actually pretty close.
I think many people forget that words don’t mean anything. People mean things and use words to convey that meaning. The shared experiences and expectations of what a person might mean by a given set of words is a relationship between the people, not between the words.
I’m fully behind your last point—both participants are free to leave. Both are free to ask the other to change, for that matter, and to complain on the internet.