Definitional Techniques

2.4
 Extensional (Denotative) Definitions
• Assigns meaning to a term by indicating the
members of the class the definiendum
denotes
• Three ways of indicating members of a class:
– Pointing to them
– Naming them individually
– Naming them in groups
 Demonstrative Definition
• Most primitive
• All you need to do is point
• Common in teaching someone a new language
• Interestingly, pointing must count as a word
 Enumerative Definitions
• Defines a term by individually naming the
members of the class the term denotes
• May be partial or complete
• Complete may be satisfying, but relatively few
classes can be completely enumerated
 Enumerative Example
• “Avengers” are heroes such as Captain
America, Black Widow, Iron Man, and Hulk.
• Pizza restaurants are places like Suppa’s, Pizza
Hazel, and Pizzeria Regina.
• Democratic candidates are persons such as
Warren, Sanders, Biden and Harris.
 Definition by Subclass
• Defines term by naming subclasses of a class
denoted by a term
• May also be partial or complete
• As in enumerative, complete is more
satisfying, but difficult to come by
 Subclass Examples
• A “sandwich” means a grilled
cheese, sub, reuben, hot
dog, taco, and the like.
• A “fine art” means ballet,
opera, painting, the
symphony, and the like.
• A “television show” means a
sit-com, drama, mini-series,
etc.
 Extensional as a Technique
• Most commonly a technique for producing
lexical and stipulative definitions
• Lexical definitions indicate how a word is
actually used
– Dictionaries often list members of class
– May even have a picture (demonstrative)
– Note: not only in dictionaries
Technique Continued

• Stipulative assign meaning for the first time. All

three kinds of extensional definitions can be used to
create a stipulative definition.
• Example: Gretchen is trying to make “fetch” happen.
– She might point to “fetch” individuals.
– She might name people who are “fetch”: Regina, Cady…
– She might name subclasses of “fetch” folks: plastics,
jocks, etc.
Extensional and Other Definition Types
• Could possibly serve as theoretical and persuasive
definitions, but this would be highly unusual
• Cannot serve as a precising definition
– Precising definitions clarify vague words
– Vagueness impacts intension
– If intension is imprecise, extension is indefinite
– Because intension determines extension
– So you cannot settle intension by locking down
extension somehow
 Other Issues
• All extensional definitions suffer deficiency due to the
fact that intension determines extension
• There is no assurance that people will actually get the
intension from the extension
• Extensions suggest intensions but do not determine them
• Example: every time Gretchen points and says someone is
“fetch” (demonstrative) they are wearing pink. Someone
might conclude that fetch means pink as opposed to
cool/fab/awesome/etc.
 Intensional Definitions
• Assigns meaning to a word by indicating the
qualities or attributes that a word connotes
• There are four strategies for indicating
attributes
• Thus there are four kinds of definitions:
– Synonymous definition
– Etymological definition
– Operational definition
– Definition by genus and difference
 Synonymous Definition
• The definiens is a single word that connotes the
same attributes as the definiendum
• In other words, the definiens is a synonym for
the word being defined
• Example:
• Beautiful: attractive, pretty, lovely, stunning.
• Bossy: controlling, tyrannical.
• Fair: just, objective, impartial, unbiased.
 Synonym Continued
• Synonymous definitions can be highly precise
• However, they will not always work
• Some words have subtle shades of meaning
that are not connoted by other synonyms
• Example:
– Wisdom is not quite the same as intelligence,
knowledge or understanding
– Enviousness is not quite the same as jealousy or
covetousness
 Etymological Definition
• Assigns meaning to a word by disclosing the
word’s ancestry in both its own language and
other languages
• Much of English has Latin and Greek roots
• Important for Two Reasons
– Root meaning is often the seminal meaning from
which all other associated meanings are derived
– Etymology of one word can give us definitions of a
whole cluster of other related words
 Etymological Example

• Plastic = 1630s, "capable of shaping or molding,"

from Latin plasticus, from Greek plastikos "able to be
molded, pertaining to molding, fit for molding," also
in reference to the arts, from plastos "molded,
formed," verbal adjective from plassein "to mold.”
Meaning “made of plastic” from 1909. Picked up in
counter culture slang with meaning “false” or
“superficial” (1963).
 Operational Definition
• Specifies an experiment or procedure to
determine whether or not a word applies to a
certain thing
• Created to tie down relatively abstract
scientific concepts in empirical reality
• Contain certain deficiencies
– Usually only contain part of intension
– Not helpful in many contexts outside of science
 Operational Examples

• One substance is harder than another if and

only if one scratches the other when the two
are rubbed together.
• A solution is acid if and only if a litmus paper
turns red when dipped into it.
Definition by Genus and Difference
• Identify genus term and one or more
difference words whose combination convey
the meaning of the term being defined
• Genus and species
– Genus is larger group
– Species is smaller subgroup of the genus
• Difference
– Attributes that distinguish different species under
the genus
 Creating Definitions

Species Means Difference Genus

Ice Frozen Water
Daughter Female Offspring
Husband Married Man
Doe Female Deer
Fawn Very young Deer
Skyscraper Very tall Building
 Continued
• Definitions by genus and difference are the
most effective intensional definitions
• Stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, and
persuasive definitions can all be constructed
this way
 Definition Types

Technique Stipulative Lexical Precising Theoretical Persuasive

Demonstrative Yes Yes No Unusual Unusual
Enumerative Yes Yes No Unusual Unusual
Subclass Yes Yes No Unusual Unusual
Synonymous No Yes No No No
Etymological Yes Yes No No No
Operational Limited Yes Yes Unusual Unusual
Genus/ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Difference