credmond@watmath.UUCP (Chris Redmond) (10/27/85)
>>>It's in the dictionary, look it up. If porn was not defined, then >>>it wouldn't be in the dictionary, in fact, it wouldn't be a word. > >>From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: >> pornography n. Written, graphic or other forms of communication >> intended to excite lascivious feelings. > >In other words, "pornography" is a synonym for _erotica_. > It is very dangerous (and very common in freshman essays) to base any sort of argument on "what it says in the dictionary". Most dictionaries are compilations of the meanings which have been attached to words, and there is no particular reason to think that future users will continue to have the same meanings in mind. Particularly on sensitive issues, or words which are much in the news, a dictionary definition is likely to be uselessly vague, or out of date compared with what people are currently saying. And, of course, dictionaries don't all agree on anything more complex than words like "chair". If dictionaries were an impartial, infallible and final authority, there would be no need for complicated judicial decisions about (for example) whether a divorced husband's pension rights are "property" -- one could just look up "property" and find out -- or whether a homosexual lover is a "dependent". And it would be impossible for surveys to report that a sizeable number of people are opposed to pornography but have no problem with Playboy magazine, while others wish to ban "pornography such as Playboy". In short, it is necessary to define terms based on the immediate situation -- to propose distinctions, for example, between pornography and erotica, or between sexism and exploitation. Those distinctions are arbitrary when first made; eventually they may become generally accepted and find their way into the dictionary, by which time some new ambiguity will be the subject of public argument!
crs@lanl.ARPA (10/31/85)
> >>>It's in the dictionary, look it up. If porn was not defined, then > >>>it wouldn't be in the dictionary, in fact, it wouldn't be a word. > > > >>From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: > >> pornography n. Written, graphic or other forms of communication > >> intended to excite lascivious feelings. > > > >In other words, "pornography" is a synonym for _erotica_. > > I would sincerely appreciate it if people wouldn't quote my postings OUT OF CONTEXT. The following followup to the second level of quotation says essentially what I said when I posted the dictionary definition above. Aren't we going in circles? Didn't we expect to be going in circles? > It is very dangerous (and very common in freshman essays) to base any > sort of argument on "what it says in the dictionary". Most dictionaries > are compilations of the meanings which have been attached to words, and > there is no particular reason to think that future users will continue to > have the same meanings in mind. Particularly on sensitive issues, or > words which are much in the news, a dictionary definition is likely to > be uselessly vague, or out of date compared with what people are currently > saying. And, of course, dictionaries don't all agree on anything more > complex than words like "chair". > > ... > -- All opinions are mine alone... Charlie Sorsby ...!{cmcl2,ihnp4,...}!lanl!crs crs@lanl.arpa