Thursday, June 11, 2015

Identification

    The first tool for this new conceptual schema of ethics is identification. Identification, simply put, is finding out what is under consideration. However, in this context, the tool itself will be used as a marker for significant behavior in the search for that which is morally praiseworthy. So, the tool will be loaded properly once a criterion for what we have chosen to look for has been selected. For now the default setting will be language that has proper usage.

    So f(x) = y, where f(x) is a function of proper use of language. The function can be represented as the way language (x) relates to proper use (y). How this formulation takes place will depend on how both of these variables are identified. Given that the language is identified, then proper use can be determined through the use of the functional formula. What the function actually is cannot be determined here, but we note how language and proper usage relate to each other.

    This is not a truth-functional operation that is carried out, but rather the function is dependent on the aesthetic qualities of language which cannot be mapped onto truth and falsehood because negation cannot significantly alter such aesthetic qualities. Something more flexible needs to be used to capture features such as syntax, diction, and cognitive strength within language. The identification will need to account for these features.

    This impasse can be overcome if we do not insist on an exact account of what we find to be significant for how certain words and phrases within language produce a sense that shows that they have more significance than others. The question now becomes one of identifying these qualities that make language augmented and elevated. The above shows that simple criteria will not do for understanding ethics, so that another approach to the problem is needed.

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