While I mostly agree with you Monica, I think it is a little more complicated than that. RA took great care in their use of semantics because it was so important that the information they gave would not be construed and misunderstood. Therefore, like you allude, they went a bit overkill.
Ultimately, the use of semantics comes down to intent: RA's intent was to enhance clarity, but semantics can also be used to enhance authority. I guess i'm sensitive to this because a pet peeve of mine is people who insist that other's use the same language as them in their everyday lives. Rather than take the accepted meaning of others words, we feel the need to correct and siphon out the 'mistakes' in the way they are thinking so that they think more like ourselves.
I would argue that to include rather than exclude will always make you fuller. We should worry more about the meaning behind the words rather than correcting the language that ultimately leads in the same direction. That's just me tho... i've always been a little anti-authoritarian
Ultimately, the use of semantics comes down to intent: RA's intent was to enhance clarity, but semantics can also be used to enhance authority. I guess i'm sensitive to this because a pet peeve of mine is people who insist that other's use the same language as them in their everyday lives. Rather than take the accepted meaning of others words, we feel the need to correct and siphon out the 'mistakes' in the way they are thinking so that they think more like ourselves.
I would argue that to include rather than exclude will always make you fuller. We should worry more about the meaning behind the words rather than correcting the language that ultimately leads in the same direction. That's just me tho... i've always been a little anti-authoritarian
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