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Y Assouline's avatar

I am blown away by how precise the thought experiment is. Here is a method of solving the conundrum of subjectivity - simply by looking at our own internal value system with one eye on the unknown.

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Shalom Doron's avatar

Language is about communication, rather than universal, absolute truth. Words convey conceptions; they need not reflect reality. Some languages convey conceptions that are not present in other languages. Speakers of a language that does not permit a particular conception would be hard pressed to think the idea not provided for in their language.

While it is true that speakers of any language often disagree about the precise meanings of the words that they use--at least, at the margin--that is often because they disagree about to what the values suggested by those disputed words ought to convey. For example, when people dispute the meaning of the word "person," they are usually not arguing about what the word means, but about what creatures ought to be afforded the protections granted to "persons." There is no underlying true meaning of the word.

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