[lit-ideas] Is defining wronged by torture?

Omar: Please point out which of the terms involved in this
definition are circular, and which are problematic so
as to require further clarification and thus lead to
infinite regress.

Eric: Donal is citing David Hume's famous objection to conventional definitions.

Hume noted that defining terms in terms of other terms merely substitutes synonyms for the term being defined. This is the "definitional circle" that leads to infinite regress. It is a well-known juncture in British empiricism.




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