WHAT ABOUT WORDS?
Here is what I remember learning about words (with the help of S. I. Hayakawa):
THE WORD IS NOT THE THING.
PEOPLE HAVE MEANINGS FOR WORDS.
CONTEXT DETERMINES MEANING.
—Memories of a Time
Memoir Stories, Events in Times Past, Growing up, My Life, Education Ephemera
3 comments
Memories of a Time 
Holy Heidegger, Batgirl! You had me at “phenomenon.” Thanks for the comment. I do remember studying Thomistic psychology: “Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius in sensu.” Pretty cool Aristotelian stuff. I accept that: reasoning and abstraction from sense data. I have to think about it. However, despite all the reasoning, one cannot reason with an irrational person. Agree? Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. A hush puppy is not always a puppy.
Reminds me of something I saw in the New York Times. Some neuroscientists are trying to talk about how we experience the world by just looking at our sensations. That phenomenonologists say you really have to look at how the thing is understood to know how it is experienced.
MEANINGS CHANGE IN TIME, WITH PLACE, AMONG PEOPLES. I was having some fun with this. I wore Hush Puppies, chukka boots, for years. I like hush puppies. I hope the Renoir captures the spirit of the GAY ’90s. . . For SUBWAY lovers, I have added a hero-sub-grinder. Yummy!