As I was finishing up reading chapter 2 of Epstien's Critical Thinking with the concept of definitions, I thought to myself that there is more to the definition of the word definition. I always perceived the meaning of definition as only the meaning of a word. However, after reading more about definitions, I learned that it is a way for a person to convey their point to another individual or even a group. A definition is a person's guide on how to use a specific word properly; it is not a claim or a premise. It is always beneficial for me to know the meaning of the words I am using because it can help me prove my case or help me win a debate with the other person I am communicating with
In addition to definitions being a way to achieve clarity in person to person conversation, there is an imposter or arch nemesis of a definition known as the persuasive or self-serving definition because it acts as a claim to be perceived as a definition. An example of this type of definition would be, "individuals who drive or own a BMW are sure to be rich." This is not necessarily true and does not constitute a person's level of wealth. A person driving a luxury vehicle like BMW may possibly be rich or it can mean that this particular person enjoys spending money on these type of cars and has a decent salary off their job. It is not a proper definition to describe the word "rich."
In order for a definition to be a legitimate definition, it needs to be clear, precise, and not vague or ambiguous. Once this is achieved, a conversation can run smoothly without having question marks bounce on top of people's heads.
A lot of times I think if you were to ask someone what their definition of something is, it would be heavily influenced by their past experience or interaction with the thing in question. In your example with the BMW, if someone who’s experiences with BMW’s only include their rich spoiled friend getting one for their 16th birthday, then when you were to ask them the definition of a BMW then they are more likely to mention that aspect of it. Likewise, if someone were to have a really good experience say, at a restaurant, and then were asked to define it they would probably include in their definition that the restaurant has very tasty food and good service, which is completely subjective and based off of opinion. When asking someone to define something for you or explain something you aren’t familiar with to you, it would be a good idea to ask them about their experience with it first so you can expect the bias that will come with anyone trying to define something that they have experienced in either a positive or negative light.
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