[lit-ideas] Re: Language, Justice and Social Practices (long)
From: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 12:24:26 -0400
Phil: While rules are constitutive, no particular rule is and so
rules can change without one playing a different game. In fact, one
can imagine that in thousands of years people will play a game
called 'chess' that bears no resemblance to the game we play today
by virtue of the fact that small changes in the game continue to be
made.
Eric: Chess might be a special case, Phil. Whereas many games could
change minor rules over time, chess has an established literature
and very rigid set of rules that have been in place for centuries.
Small changes do change the name of the game. For example, even
changing the height of the board by staggering it on levels, as in
the Star Trek version, while changing no other aspect of the game,
has given rise to the name "3-D Chess."
So unlike a language--which constantly changes while retaining its
name--some form of chess played in a new way would no longer be
called "chess," but would be called something else.
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