I find the word “meta” has been frequently used in a different connotation. Very often it does not mean “an X about X”, but simply “look at X (itself) from a higher-level, outsider perspective”.
The first word that jumps into my mind is “Meta-ethics”. It is less of “the ethics of ethics” but more of “what does ethics itself mean?”, akin to the later use of the word “meta”.
Personally, I would love it if these meanings are expressed by different words. But language is a tricky thing that involves too many things besides strict definitions.
I find the word “meta” has been frequently used in a different connotation. Very often it does not mean “an X about X”, but simply “look at X (itself) from a higher-level, outsider perspective”.
The first word that jumps into my mind is “Meta-ethics”. It is less of “the ethics of ethics” but more of “what does ethics itself mean?”, akin to the later use of the word “meta”.
Personally, I would love it if these meanings are expressed by different words. But language is a tricky thing that involves too many things besides strict definitions.
Agree! That’s part of what I meant by “The fact that it now has other meanings in narrow contexts...”.
I would guess that “meta-ethics” specifically is in analogy to metaphysics, though I couldn’t verify that with a quick google.