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Re: Settle a strange question: Is a watch an organon?
Here is an official response from Merriam-Webster:
Dear Kyle, Organon is frequently used as the collective title for the treatises of Aristotle although the word also appears in the works of other philosophers such as Johann Heinrich Lambert, whose principal philosophical work is titled "New Organon or Thoughts on the Search for Truth and the Distinction between Error and Appearance" (1764). Our evidence for the word shows that it is most often used in philosophical or scientific contexts as the definition in our Online Dictionary indicates (the sense-divider "specifically" means that the part of the definition that reads "a body of principles of scientific or philosophic investigation" is the predominant meaning). That being said, the broader definition "an instrument for acquiring knowledge" is provided to cover cases where the word appears in more general contexts. I've drawn this distinction to show that a watch is not an organon, and that organon is not used in writing to mean watch. The question that you are asking about does not relate to what the word organon means, but rather to the nature of reality. From a philosophical standpoint, your question does not have a simple answer. I can't provide you with a definitive answer, but I happened to notice that this very question is posted online at the following Web site: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...03&Main=12 143117 The comments have been posted for over a year, but perhaps you will find some of them relevant. Sincerely, Anne Eason Merriam-Webster Editorial Department Springfield, MA 01102 http://Merriam-Webster.com http://unabridged.Merriam-Webster.com |
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