Re: A question of semantics

 --- Tristan McLeay wrote:
> Estel Telcontar wrote:
>
> >This, what you're talking about here, gets me into a tangled knot of
> >thoughts, which I'm going to try to disentangle.  I'm not sure how
> much
> >of these thoughts are relevant to what you're talking about.
> >
> >First, your example reminds me of a specific instance where I've
> never
> >found adequate words to express the kind of certainty/uncertainty of
> an
> >experience.  I'm thinking of an experience that we've probably all
> had,
> >though I sometimes think it occurs to me with a higher-than-average
> >frequency (often several times daily): the experience of "seeing"
> >someone, only to look again and find it's someone you don't know.
> >Let's say the person I didn't actually see is called Jenny.
> >
>
> I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with 'I thought I saw Jenny'.
> Indeed,
> I would say that describes exactly what happened. If I was unable to
> tell whether or not it actually was Jenny (looked again and I she
> wasn't
> there, or even after looking again I wasn't sure because I hadn't
> seen
> Jenny in some time), then I would've said 'I think I saw Jenny' (even
> if
> I'm no longer actively thinking it and I'm just mentioning it, so the
> tense is technically wrong).
I'm not sure exactly what's wrong with it either, though I'm trying to
figure it out.  It may be a case where -  how do I explain this? - the
statement is technically correct because it includes what I want to
express, but unsatisfyingly inaccurate because its centre or focus is
not on what I want to express.  Almost as if the statement I make draws
a circle around a some semantic territory, and my meaning is inside the
correct semantic territory, but not near the middle, and I feel that
when  my statement is received, the listener/reader will automatically
understand something near the middle of the circle of semantic
territory.  Whether or not this is such a case, I know I've found cases
like that.

> >The problem is, I can't say "I saw Jenny", because it wasn't
> actually
> >her.
> >
> >I also can't say "I thought I saw Jenny", because that makes it all
> >sound too intentional - like I actually believed I saw Jenny till I
> >looked again and saw it wasn't her.  But that's also wrong, because
> >after "seeing" Jenny, I was aware that, given the briefness of the
> >"seeing", and the frequency with which I mistakenly "see" people, it
> >most likely wasn't her.
> >
>
> But for the brief moment between seeing notJenny the first time and
> the
> second time, didn't you think it was Jenny? Isn't this the reason for
> the looking a second time? Belief isn't an intentional thing, nor is
> thinking (in this sense).  When you say 'I thought I saw Jenny', the
> only thing I would interpret that as is:
> 1. Light entered your eyes from a scene only briefly in view.
> 2. Your brain processed said light and decided a part of it was what
> looks like Jenny. Therefore, at this stage, you think you saw Jenny.
> 3. Intrigued, you move your head to see if it is Jenny. Why we do
> this
> I'm not sure but it seems almost automatic.
> 4. More light from the same source enters your eyes and is processed
> by
> your brain.
> 5. Your brain decides this time that it isn't Jenny. Therefore, at
> this
> stage, you *thought* you saw Jenny, but you no longer do (and 'I
> thought
> I saw Jenny' is sufficient to express this).
> or
> 4. You can't see the same person again. At this stage, you aren't
> sure,
> so you think you saw Jenny, but aren't certain (and 'I think I saw
> Jenny' is sufficient to express this in certain contexts; you might
> want
> to add the '... but I'm not certain' disclaimer).
>
> Is that not what you mean?
I understand your point, and I can't find any flaws in your argument,
but somehow it doesn't satisfy me.  Perhaps it's an issue with
different kinds of thinking -
1. thinking on an uncontrolled, not necessarily rational, intuitive
level, which does think I saw Jenny.
and
2. thinking on a rational, controlled, I'd almost say conscious, level,
on which for no instant do I think I saw Jenny.

And perhaps I shy away from saying "I think/thought I saw Jenny"
because I expect it to be understood with "think 2" not "think 1".

Does that make any sense?

> Tristan
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