RE: Open Border Insanity... Illegal Immigrants, Illegal Aliens, Refugees, Migrants, Compassion "Oh My"

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Open Border Insanity... Illegal Immigrants, Illegal Aliens, Refugees, Migrants, Compassion "Oh My"

in openborders •  6 years ago 

It depends upon the dictionary you look at. The older they are it is likely a lot different than what you'll get most places. I actually did look at a lot of dictionaries before using the terms.

Though in modern times the definitions of a lot of words are being changed. Often changed from what they have been for 1000s of years.

Yet let's take it a step further. A dictionary is made by humans. That is why each dictionary differs. They are meant as a tool to help people learn words they don't know. They however, are not the AUTHORITY on what a word must be. Otherwise, they'd have the same definitions. They don't. So falling upon dictionary definitions is nothing more than an Argument from Authority fallacy. ;)

I buy into definitions a lot more if they are accompanied by the etymology of the word.

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  ·  6 years ago (edited)

If you have a disagreement with a dictionary definition it's a semantic argument. Tell me, if I were to ask you to differentiate between immigrant and invader, what would be the difference? If we cannot agree on what words mean then there's no point in talking, and I think you've stretched authority to mean anything now, especially considering there's no one authority in charge there and you might as well say it's a fallacy of popularity as that would be much more veracious, don't you think?