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Full Idea
Definition cannot take the same form in philosophy as it does in mathematics; the imitation of mathematical procedure is invariably in this respect not only unfruitful, but perverse and most harmful in its consequences.
Gist of Idea
The use of mathematical-style definitions in philosophy is fruitless and harmful
Source
Edmund Husserl (Ideas: intro to pure phenomenology [1913], Intro)
Book Ref
Husserl,Edmund: 'Ideas: general introduction to pure phenomenology', ed/tr. Boyce Gibson,W [Routledge 2012], p.6
A Reaction
A hundred years of analytic philosophy has entirely ignored this warning. My heart has always sunk when I read '=def...' in a philosophy article (which is usually American). The illusion of rigour.
| 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] |