Self-referential statement🧠
Self-referential statements are only true to one person or one group of persons at a time, and do not refer to anyone but those who espouse them. Rather than using “is,” it would be more proper to say “seems to me.” Stated thus, it would be “true.” A potential source of idolatry and dogmatism may enter our thinking when our language is not pedantic enough. Using the word “is” makes it seems like a statement about some “objective reality.” The formation “seems to me” declares itself as a self-referential proposition and does not so readily get confused with “objective” statements.
According to positivists, such statements would all be considered “meaningless statements.” We are not being so stringent here. We can grant that such statements are meaningful to the people who are making them. We are merely suggesting that, by callng them self-referential, we can avoid the errors and emotional tantrums that occur when they are treated the same as scientific or mathematical statements.
References
- Wilson, A., Robert (1986). The New Inquisition Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science Chapter 2 Skepticism and Blind Faith (Page 63 · Location 1202). Grand Junction, Colorado: Hilaritas Press
Metadata
Type:🔵 Tags: Philosophy / Epistemology / Logic / Semantics / Linguistics Status:☀️