SUO: Re: Conformance & Conformity
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JA = Jon Awbrey
SR = Seth Russell
JA: Once again, let me try to establish the totally naive point
that the only reason why anybody would ever desire to conform
to the dictations that happen to be recorded in some dictionary
is if that dictionary conforms to something independent of itself,
like actual usage in some community.
SR: Agree.
JA: Moreover, the best reason why anybody would want to conform to
the usage embodied in some community is if that usage enables
that community to conform to some reality independent of itself.
SR: That's a bit of a subjective evaluation on your part ...
from my way of thinking its not true. People might
want to conform to a dictionary just because they
get more strokes from their peers if they do.
Well, I did say "best reason", not "only reason",
but, yes, judgments of what's best are relative
to an arbiter, hence "arbitrary".
Still, there are reasons to be sought in primate evolution
why different folks should desire these strokes from peers.
And those reasons evolve from the adaptive relationships
of communities to realities, else we would not be here,
such as we are ... for as long we are ...
JA: None of this robs dictionaries of their power to innovate and
to regulate usage, but it does require dictionary makers to be
cognizant of what it is they can and cannot have power over.
SR: Yep.
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