From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Thu May 30 2002 - 00:51:58 MDT
Lee Corbin wrote:
> cen·sor
> To examine and expurgate.
> and
> ex·pur·gate
> To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise
> objectionable material ... before publication.
Hal Finney wrote:
> Asking what is or is not censorship is a semantic question and there is
> no unique answer.
Samantha Atkins wrote:
> I disagree it is a "semantic question". Words have pretty
> straightforward meanings at times. Censorship is prohibition of
> the expressing of certain thoughts and opinions by the use of
> force. Nothing else is remotely censorship.
Michael M. Butler wrote:
> I agree, as far as Samantha goes, but would amend that to say that
> censorship involves force _or_ _subterfuge_.
It's not a semantic question, hmmm? What is a semantic question? It is,
by definition, a question about the meaning of words! And here you are,
all disputing the meaning of a word! How can that not be a semantic
question?
Maybe we now have to have an argument about what a semantic question
is. That dispute would itself be a semantic question, being about the
meaning of the word "semantic". Then someone could disagree that whether
something is a semantic question, is a semantic question! Would that
then be another semantic question?
Mad, you've all gone mad.
Hal
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