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Full Idea
There are practically no defensible examples of definitions; for all the examples we've got, practically all the words (/concepts) are undefinable.
Gist of Idea
We have no successful definitions, because they all use indefinable words
Source
Jerry A. Fodor (Concepts:where cogn.science went wrong [1998], Ch.3)
Book Ref
Fodor,Jerry A.: 'Concepts: where cognitive science went wrong' [OUP 1998], p.45
A Reaction
I don't think a definition has to be defined all the way down. Aristotle is perfectly happy if you can get a concept you don't understand down to concepts you do. Understanding is the test, not further definitions.
| 602 | Some fools think you cannot define anything, but only say what it is like [Antisthenes (I), by Aristotle] |
| 5619 | No a priori concept can be defined [Kant] |
| 22201 | The use of mathematical-style definitions in philosophy is fruitless and harmful [Husserl] |
| 14115 | Definition by analysis into constituents is useless, because it neglects the whole [Russell] |
| 14159 | In mathematics definitions are superfluous, as they name classes, and it all reduces to primitives [Russell] |
| 12619 | We have no successful definitions, because they all use indefinable words [Fodor] |
| 9331 | How do we determine which of the sentences containing a term comprise its definition? [Horwich] |
| 12585 | Most people can't even define a chair [Peacocke] |
| 14981 | Philosophical concepts are rarely defined, and are not understood by means of definitions [Sider] |
| 15015 | It seems possible for a correct definition to be factually incorrect, as in defining 'contact' [Sider] |
| 20391 | Feminists warn that ideologies use timeless objective definitions as a tool of repression [Davies,S] |