In my point of view, examiner has asked to select or reject the account as well.

When it comes to meaning, it could be sense, signification or decision of anything. This statement depicts that meaning of anything can remain permanent or not with special reference to conflicts/theories/beliefs/concepts/practices in the past, present and for the respective future like there could be as many aspects and situations of any distinct in which particular meaning was being illustrated and time is a major key factor in determining its stance. It doesn't bound to be fixed, indeed in other cases as well because there are as many as approaches and applications that differ among humans, birds, animals.. A statement that can be explained in terms of both living and non living things.

I just tried to apprehend the topic, though I'm not yet much good at writing essays but if I'd have appeared today, I'd love to attempt this topic suggestions and criticisms are welcomed

Profound regards,
RMKamran.

Meaning cant be fixed according to my point of view.
can anybody draw an outine on ds very statment?

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He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

Is it possible to allocate a defined and certain meaning/interpretation to a word, an act, or a situation? Keeping in mind the diversity and intelligence of human brains, it can be affirmed that the above-stated idea cannot be turned into a reality. Exactly same sentences coming out of two different mouths can mean entirely different intentions. A situation may signify certain facts; however the real circumstance might be sheerly contrasting. We just cannot "fix" or specify meaning of anything at all.

To "Fix" also signifies repairing. Therefore, we may assume that the statement in question refers to a possibility of adjusting the meaning of words, acts, and situations according to one's own will and wish. Is it practicable to fix a situation (gone wrong due to misinterpretation of any oral and physical activity) by offering acceptable (yet probable) interpretation of the very situation? Can human minds be played with by making use of the intelligence and moulding unfavourable situations in one's favour only by twisting the possible meaning of situations and words?

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Valar Morghulis ~ All Men Must Die!

Friends as per my little knowledge..this statements tends to define a concept ,that there is a single reality having multiple facets...A fact,or truth might have some different meaning and interpretation for different people..based on their beliefs,values,interests etc... i might be wrong..but shared, what i extracted from this statement..

this is an intresting and seems to be a simple topic.
meanings cannot be fixed.
there can be as many interpretations and diversity in the understanding of the things that all human beings simply cant stick to a single dimension.
this is the essence of development and evolution in every field of life wether it is science,humanities,art,moral values,social behaviors,daily life affairs.
all the progress that we see around is the result of this diversity n bla bla

It is surely an interesting and a very broad topic .. However, if I were attempting this paper I would have gone for this essay, thanks to deeply mind boggling discussions and lectures of my Jurisprudence (Legal Philosophy) teachers ..

There can be a lot many angles to tackle this question .. I would surely have quoted H.LA Hart, who in his masterpiece on Jurisprudence 'The concept of law' writes that it is by focusing on the words themselves we tend to understand properly what in true essence they mean or what they are ..

A word or a thing may have different meanings and definitions .. How can we say that what meaning or definition is true, as all we have on that is a pre-conceived knowledge .. For example, St. Augustine once remarked on the notion of time:

'What then is time .. ? If no one asks me I know: if I wish to explain it to one that asks I know not'.

Similarly in such cases a definition or meaning of a word supplies a map and guides us to the relationship of the word and the scenario in which it is being used .. We use that map for our understanding, but have learnt the meaning ourselves .. ?

Now, coming to the question in topic .. Can meaning be fixed .. ? My stance being an avid reader of philosophy would be No .. I can remember a very thought provoking line my teacher of legal philosophy once used .. 'Definition is dictatorship' .. It means to teach someone the meaning or definition of something amounts to tyranny as it teaches only a prevalent idea and takes away from the pupil the liberty to learn and present or perceive his own account of the word or object .. In this sense, it is asked that can meaning be fixed .. ?

Meaning is fixed, but that is how it works .. And proponents of this view may argue that if the meaning is not fixed, it may lead to linguistic chaos as not all can comprehend at the level of philosophers .. This would not help in collective understanding and well being of the societies .. And if philosophers had to narrate to the rest, they would then be defining to them and then proven dictators themselves in their own terms ..

I think the whole essay revolves around this kinda discussion .. There are a lot many other angles to it though .. One very good source for it would be the book 'The Meaning of Meaning' by Charles Ogden .. And I can remember another angle through a question raised by Ogden that 'Would it be possible to construct an international language' .. ? And how can meaning be fixed when different cultures have different values .. ? For example in modern Western culture a person who thinks fast, acts fast and readily gives an answer is considered wise or a genius .. However, in most African cultures a person who thinks deeply and responds only after careful deliberations is considered wise or a genius .. So it is possible after all cultural and social differences that meaning be fixed .. ? And as Ogden remarks that 'what to some that appears to be obvious', may make others very uneasy while explaining to the rest ..

For a practical example try explain the meaning of time to someone, supposing he / she doesn't already know what it means ..

Regards ..

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You Have To Keep Breaking Your Heart Until It Opens .. !! Rumi ..

It was Orman Quine who said that "No word has a fixed meaning". According to Quine, when the word “rabbit” is spoken, it may mean any one of a number of things, depending on the context in which it is said. Quine refers to this problem as the “indeterminacy of translation”, and it has unsettling implications. It suggests that ultimately words do not have meanings. The sense of somebody uttering “gavagai” (or, for that matter, “rabbit”), and of this utterance being meaningful comes not from some mysterious link between words and things, but from the patterns of our behavior, and the fact that we have learned to participate in language as a social art.

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The Me you have always known, the Me that's a stranger still.

A half filled glass of water is half empty as well as half filled. Now for one person it is half empty and for the other it is half filled. What does it exactly mean then? This is the problem given in that topic.

The essence of that topic lies in giving solution so that we can give one exact meaning to that "glass". Now I try, according to me that glass of water would be called "Half filled glass of water".. That shows we can fix the meaning, but it requires great prowess at Logic and Language to handle such profound topics. My knack for Philosophy would have urged me to go for that topic, although it would have been a gamble, but as they say, High Risk High return.

Overall that topic was tough one to handle, and I think essay again would prove to be the Achilles heel, other topics are also tough this time.
Best of Luck to all.

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Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
But when love is one sided, holding off is no more an option.

Looks like a "fun" topic. lol

As someone said before, it deals with perception, reality, language and a bit of philosophy. Place an object in front of people, and everyone would interpret and perceive it differently. One would see it as a glass, another as a cup, the third, as a mug. This attitude is not limited to that specific object alone, but it spreads across all aspects of our lives. This brings up the question, can "meaning" be fixed?

I guess you can make points to support the concept of "meaning" to be subjective, but I believe you can also make few points in the end to claim, that there are certain things in life whose meaning are not "subjective" in interpretation, but are rather constant and universal in understanding.

Such is the concept of "humanity" which includes human compassion, love and forgiveness etc. One does not need to "interpret" to understand such reality of humanity, because it is felt and experienced universally across humankind, e.g The experience of motherhood, empathy, the fundamental right of mankind to life. etc.

such experiences and concepts are accepted among humankind universally, regardless of language, race, culture...


I guess, this is one way of attempting this topic. Anyone with ideas, please share with us.

Thanks.

Check the same essay written in this thread and give your feedbacks (click the link):

Can meaning be fixed? CLICK HERE

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"I know one thing: that I know nothing" ~ Aristotle