Philosophy of Being and Knowledge

Logic (Philosophy of Thought)

Definition

There exists only one way to reveal the essence of a concept. This method, employed both in science and daily life, is known as definition. Whenever we attempt to explain what something is, we use a definition. Here are a few typical examples of definitions:

• Macrosociology is a collection of general theoretical knowledge resulting from the study of large social entities.
• Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that addresses the problems of knowledge and the relationship between knowledge and reality.
• Ultimatum is a demand that includes the application of sanctions.

All definitions share the same structure. A definition comprises the definiendum, which is the concept being defined, and the definiens, which is the set of concepts used to define the definiendum. The definiens itself consists of a general concept and a list of specific characteristics. In other words, to define a concept, one must place it within the scope of a general concept and indicate how it differs from all other instances of the same category. For example, to define an ultimatum, one indicates that it is a type of demand, but distinguishes it from other demands by including sanctions.

Definitions can be categorized into three types:

• Real Definition: This reveals the general and essential characteristics of a concept. It is characterized by strict adherence to the definition's structure and formal rules.
• Nominal Definition: This clarifies the name by which a concept is known. As suggested by the name (nominal from Latin nomen, meaning name), this type of definition determines the name used to designate the concept and its denotation. The goal of a nominal definition is not to uncover the essential characteristics of a concept, but to establish the name as a graphic-phonetic expression of the concept. Such definitions are used primarily in explanatory dictionaries to show the meaning of a word rather than the concept itself, or in scientific works introducing a new term whose meaning is not yet known.
• Explication (Explanation): An incomplete definition that adheres to the formal requirements of definitions only partially due to the impossibility of meeting all such requirements.

Constructing a correct definition requires adherence to the following rules:

• The concept must be defined through the nearest genus.
• The definition must be commensurate.
• The specific difference should be only those attributes that are unique to this concept and absent in other concepts of the same genus.
• The definition should not be negative.
• The definition must avoid circularity, meaning the definiendum should not be defined through a concept that becomes clear only through the definiendum.
• The definition should not contain logical contradictions.
• The definition must be clear and precise.