An ostensive definition conveys the
meaning
Meaning most commonly refers to:
* Meaning (linguistics), meaning which is communicated through the use of language
* Meaning (philosophy), definition, elements, and types of meaning discussed in philosophy
* Meaning (non-linguistic), a general te ...
of a term by pointing out examples. This type of
definition
A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: intensional definitions (which try to give the sense of a term), and extensional definitio ...
is often used where the term is difficult to define verbally, either because the words will not be understood (as with children and new speakers of a language) or because of the nature of the term (such as colors or sensations). It is usually accompanied with a gesture
pointing to the object serving as an example, and for this reason is also often referred to as "
definition by pointing".
Overview
An
ostensive
Ostension is the act of showing or demonstrating something.
In communication
In communication theory and especially in relevance theory, ''ostensive behaviour'' or ''ostension'' is a behaviour that signals the intention to communicate something. ...
definition assumes the questioner has sufficient understanding to recognize the type of information being given.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian- British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is cons ...
writes:
So one might say: the ostensive definition explains the use—the meaning—of the word when the overall role of the word in language is clear. Thus if I know that someone means to explain a colour-word to me the ostensive definition "That is called 'sepia' " will help me to understand the word.... One has already to know (or be able to do) something in order to be capable of asking a thing's name. But what does one have to know?
The limitations of ostensive definition are exploited in a famous argument from the ''
Philosophical Investigations
''Philosophical Investigations'' (german: Philosophische Untersuchungen) is a work by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, published posthumously in 1953.
''Philosophical Investigations'' is divided into two parts, consisting of what Wittgens ...
'' (which deal primarily with the
philosophy of language
In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, the ...
), the
private language argument
The private language argument argues that a language understandable by only a single individual is incoherent, and was introduced by Ludwig Wittgenstein in his later work, especially in the ''Philosophical Investigations''. The argument was cent ...
, in which
Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian- British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is consid ...
asks if it is possible to have a private language that no one else can understand.
[Wittgenstein, Ludwig. ''Philosophical Investigations'', §258.]
John Passmore states that the term was first defined by the British logician
William Ernest Johnson
William Ernest Johnson, FBA (23 June 1858 – 14 January 1931), usually cited as W. E. Johnson, was a British philosopher, logician and economic theorist.Zabell, S.L. (2008"Johnson, William Ernest (1858–1931)"In: Durlauf S.N., Blume L.E. (e ...
(1858–1931):
"His neologisms, as rarely happens, have won wide acceptance: such phrases as "ostensive definition", such contrasts as those between ... "determinates" and "determinables", "continuants" and "occurrents", are now familiar in philosophical literature" (Passmore 1966, p. 344).
See also
*
Comprehension
Comprehension may refer to:
* Comprehension (logic), the totality of intensions, that is, properties or qualities, that an object possesses
* Comprehension approach, several methodologies of language learning that emphasize understanding languag ...
*
Enumerative definition
An enumerative definition of a concept or term is a special type of extensional definition that gives an explicit and exhaustive listing of all the objects that fall under the concept or term in question. Enumerative definitions are only possible ...
*
Exemplification
Exemplification, in the philosophy of language, is a mode of symbolization characterized by the relation between a sample and what it refers to.
Description
Unlike ostension, which is the act of showing or pointing to a sample, exemplification ...
*
Extensional and intensional definitions
*
Intension
In any of several fields of study that treat the use of signs — for example, in linguistics, logic, mathematics, semantics, semiotics, and philosophy of language — an intension is any property or quality connoted by a word, phrase, or ano ...
*
Ostension
Notes
References
*
*
* (in particular Sect.11)
Further reading
* Chad Engelland (ed.) ''
Ostension: Word Learning and the Embodied Mind''. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2014
Logic
Pragmatics
Semantics
Semiotics
Definition
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