This reminds me strongly of Wittgenstein’s notion of “family resemblances” as a more reasonable replacement for definitions. The way mental illnesses are diagnosed in the DSM is similar—if you have X out of N possible symptoms, then you have the disease. Maybe womanhood (forgive my comparison with a disease!) is similar nowadays.
This reminds me strongly of Wittgenstein’s notion of “family resemblances” as a more reasonable replacement for definitions. The way mental illnesses are diagnosed in the DSM is similar—if you have X out of N possible symptoms, then you have the disease. Maybe womanhood (forgive my comparison with a disease!) is similar nowadays.