5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are all variations on the same theme of “I want to be associated with a particular sub-set of humans” That is Simulacra level 3 behavior. And I don’t think they really count as separate meanings.
I agree that those have that basic thing in common. Whether they “count as separate meanings” mostly depends on how big you decide a “meaning” is; this seems a lot like a semantic question to me. I could easily imagine some circumstances where caring about the differences between some of these might be useful.
and is kind of a wrap-around Level 1 simulacra: you are accurately stating that you are a member of the tribe, and it is common knowledge that the mouth noise “I like red” carries no information relating to the speakers opinions about “red”
I think we mostly agree, though I’d clarify:
In many circumstances, this ritual still tells us something about you liking red. If you really, really hated red, the person might notice this and be reluctant to say this. For example, “Nice to see you” is a fairly ritualized phrase, but it still carries some literal meaning.
“you are accurately stating that you are a member of the tribe” → This is one thing that a ritual could be useful for, but there are many other meanings rituals can point at.
Atheists say “God bless you” to other Atheists and nobody bats an eye or questions thier disbelief. People say “f u” all the time without any expectation of an difficult anatomical act. Some phrases are just arbitrary mouth noises that signal membership in “the tribe of people who use that phrase”
I agree that those have that basic thing in common. Whether they “count as separate meanings” mostly depends on how big you decide a “meaning” is; this seems a lot like a semantic question to me. I could easily imagine some circumstances where caring about the differences between some of these might be useful.
I think we mostly agree, though I’d clarify:
In many circumstances, this ritual still tells us something about you liking red. If you really, really hated red, the person might notice this and be reluctant to say this. For example, “Nice to see you” is a fairly ritualized phrase, but it still carries some literal meaning.
“you are accurately stating that you are a member of the tribe” → This is one thing that a ritual could be useful for, but there are many other meanings rituals can point at.
Atheists say “God bless you” to other Atheists and nobody bats an eye or questions thier disbelief. People say “f u” all the time without any expectation of an difficult anatomical act. Some phrases are just arbitrary mouth noises that signal membership in “the tribe of people who use that phrase”