LESSON 4:

TERMS AS VERBAL
CONCEPTS
 This chapter discusses the term or word as the verbal sign expressing a concept.
Thought is invisible and imperceptible to the senses. We cannot take it and put it in
someone's mind in the manner we may drop a coin in a piggy bank. We wont know what
somebody has in mind unless we understand his gestures or signs
Speech is the primary means by which we communicate with one another. The
language we use is a body of symbols with which we articulate our feelings and ideas. The basic
unit of a language is the word. We call it term, from the latin word terminus.

The Definition of the Term

A term is the sensible conventional sign of a concept. For Bachhuber, it is primarily and
oral sign and he defines it as “an articulate sound that serves as a conventional or arbitrary sign
of a concept”. Written language, according to him, directly signifies oral language and, we take
the term to mean both the oral and the written word.
a) A term is sensible, because, being material, it is perceptible to the senses, such as, our sense
of hearing or sight. As verbal symbol, a term is made up of the letters of the alphabet,
arranged in a manner that we can reproduce in guttural sound.
b) A term is conventional because it is a sort of “name” or “label” coined by men and its usage
depends upon convention or tradition. For this reason, terms are not constant or unchanging
like the concept they represent. Some terms are rendered obsolete and are dropped as they
are no longer “fashionable”.
c) A term is a sign because it represents a concept and, through the concept, it represents
reality. What constitutes a term as such is its meaning. The meaning of a given term is the
concept which it represents. A term without a concept to back it up is literally
“meaningless”. But such term has a function in a language and is not entirely useless.
Terms as Verbal Concepts

When we ask for the meaning of a word or term, we are asking, in fact, for the concept
it represents. The meaning of a word is the same as the comprehension of the concept. We
realize this whenever we consult the dictionary. What the dictionary gives us is the sum total of
the comprehension of the concept represented by term. Therefore, the term and the concept are
convertible. They differ, however, in this: a term is material and sensible, whereas a concept is
immaterial and intelligible.
In communication, we communicate the meaning of our words, not their spelling or
pronunciation. Correct spelling and pronunciation, however, help clarify what exactly we want
to say. It is not rare that incorrect spelling or pronunciation leads to miscommunication. And, of
course miscommunication causes misunderstanding.
Examples:
1. Colonel Colonel Harry Davidson
2. Epitome This is the epitome of Picasso’s work
3. Yoghurt Strawberry and vanilla yoghurt.
4. Choir St Augustine’s School Choir.
The Significant Terms

There are a few hundred thousand words in a given language. Every term is a word.
But not every word, strictly speaking, is a term. This is because not every word in a language
stands for something. Some words do not express a meaning or concept. These words are called
co-significant or syncategorematic terms.
Co-significant or syncategorematic words do not express a concept, but they are used
in conjunction with (syn) another word or words to express a definite meaning. The
prepositions, for example, do not have meaning. But they add a new conceptual aspect to
another word such as “house”. Observe how the concept house acquires a new meaning with
different prepositions, such as: in the house, on the house, under the house.
Words such as 'all', 'and', 'if' are examples of such terms.
 Our main interest is on the significant or categorematic terms. These are the terms
which express a meaning because they stand for something, either a nature or attribute of nature.
In English grammar, we learn how nouns, adjectives and verbs stand for individual nature or
qualities of individual natures.

Significant or categorematic terms are not necessarily single words. Sometimes they
are expressed as compound words. Sometimes they are expressed as compound words. At other
times, they are expressed as group of words or phrases. The following are categorematic terms
expressed in various grammatical forms.
a). Philosopher
b). My philosopher friend
c). My philosopher friend studying history

Each of the above example signifies one person. But each word group signifies a
different aspect of that same person
Terms as Definitions

A definition is a statement that gives the meaning of a term. The word definition is
derived from the latin definire which means “to enclose within limits”. In defining, we set the
“limits” how a term is to be taken as meaning something and not something else besides.
Definition then marks off the thing defined and differentiates it from another. Through
definition, a term is made definite as to its precise meaning.
A definition is not a sentence, like “Man is a rational animal”. A definition is usually a
group of words, a complex term. The definition of man consists in this word phrase “rational
animal”. It may occur that a definition is the predicate of a sentence, but it cannot be the entire
sentence
What the comprehension is to the concept, the definition is to the term. And since the
term is but an expression of a concept, the definition of a term is but the comprehension of the
concept represented by that term.
Examples:
 "cultural diversity."
 Five months for a college semester.
 A contract clause that says that payment must be paid by a cashier's check.
Types of Definition

We distinguished between nominal and a real definition.

1. A Nominal Definition – merely points out what the term stands for, without explaining what it
is in itself. Its purpose is to call our attention to a thing or to the term itself as symbol.
A nominal definition is either by etymology, by synonym, by description, or by example.
a) Etymological definition states the origin or root word of a symbol. We may say, for
example, the philosophy comes from the greek word “philo” (love) and “sophia” (wisdom), so
that philosophy is “love of wisdom”. Psychology from the greek word “psyche” meaning the
mind, sould, or spirit and “logos” meaning discourse or to study.
b) Definition by Synonym presents another word, more popular or easily recognizable, to clarify
a given term. For example, instead of saying “proprietor, we say “owner”; instead of
“magistrate”, we say “judge”; instead of “lad”, we say “boy”. Translating a word to its
vernacular equivalent is a form of definition by synonym.
c) Definition by Description provides a description of the thing as to its physical appearance. We
may, for example, describe a tree as a “live being having roots, a single trunk, several branches
and leaves”. Bird as “live being flying, having wings, and feathers.
d) Definition by Example offers a sample, facsimile, or picture of the thing referred to. To prove
the “taste” of a new biscuit, a manufacturer may opt to offer sample of such biscuits to customer
in a supermarket. Illustrations, diagrams, graphs – are methods of presenting a definition by
sample.
2. A Real Definition not only declares what thing is signified but explains what is its nature.
A real definition explains what a thing is and how it is different from another. A real
definition is a complex term, expressing the note that a thing has in common with similar types
and also the note that differentiates that thing from another.
A real definition gives the proximate genus, the nearest class to which a thing is
classified, and the specific difference, or that aspect which differentiates a thing from another
belonging to the same class. The proximate genus of man is “animal”; the specific difference is
“rational”. Thus , the real definition of man as man is “rational animal”.
A real definition is also called essential definition since it explains the essence of a
thing. Not everything, of course, can be assigned a real definition. Individuals, such as Pedro,
Corazon, or Miguel, are identified rather than defined. They may be identified on the basis of a
definition by description or that example, through pictures.
Other examples:

 “Being a brother” it applies and determined by the concepts “being a male”

 “Being a mother/auntie – being a female”
 “She/her – female”
 “He/his – male”
Types of Quasi-Real Definitions

When a real definition is difficult or impossible to formulate, any one of the following
may be used to an advantage:

1. Definition by Property gives an attribute of a thing instead of its true specific

difference. A property is a quality which is rooted on the nature of a thing. Thus, if something
has this definite nature, it has also this definite property or attribute.
Examples:
 Automotive vehicles
 Industrial equipments
 Furnitures
 Real estates
2. Definition by Logical Accident gives an attribute of a thing which may or may not be present
in that thing, but which we may expect nonetheless owing to the nature of that thing. We define
man by logical property when we say he is “capable of education”, or, “capable of a wise
decision”.

Examples:
 Taking a life is a crime and morally wrong; therefore, termite control is a crime and morally
wrong.
 Birds can fly; therefore, emus must be able to fly too.
3. Definition by Cause gives the factors that contribute to the constitution of a thing as such.
There are four causes: final, efficient, material, and formal cause.

a) Definition by Final Cause states the purpose of a thing. For example, a thermometer
as “an instrument for measuring body temperature; a watch as “a mechanical device for telling
time”.
 b) Definition by Efficient Cause states the origin or factor that produced the thing. For
example, man as “creature made by God”; a chair as “an artifact made by a carpenter”,
houseplan/blueprints “drawings designed by engineers/architects, Metal appliances, “made by
welders etc, a clay pot made by potters.
 c) Definition by Material Cause states the stuff or material from which the thing is
made. For example, a nippa hut as “a structure made of nipa and bamboo”; a pencil as “writing
instrument made of lead or charcoal enclosed in a slender piece of wood”, a ballpen which the
ballpoint are made out of brass which is an alloy of copper and zinc. A coin is made of nickel
and plated steel.
 d) Definition by Formal Cause states that form or constitutive element which makes a
thing to be what it is. For example, a man as “an animal with a rational soul”, a car as “a
motorized vehicle for transport”, a blueprint or plan that one has before making or causing a
human made object to exist. Tumpline “a device that uses manpower to lift or carry products or
things.
Rules of Good Definition

1. A definition must be brief. It should include only those features which explain a
thing as it is. Brevity aids clarity. Verbosity leads to confusion. Thus, a definition must be short,
unless it is extremely necessary to provide details to sufficiently explain a thing.

2. A definition must be clear. The purpose of a definition is to explain a thing or a

concept. A definition, therefore, should unravel the nature of a thing and should not obscure it.

3. A definition must be positive. A definition should tell us what a thing is and not what
it is not. To say for example, that logic is “not psychology” does not give us any information
about logic.
 However, negative concepts may be defined negatively. Thus, we say ignorance is “the
lack of sight”. Because our knowledge of immaterial objects is not direct, we may also define
them negatively. Thus, we may define a spirit as “a being without physical body”.

4. A definition must be adequate. This means that the definition states exactly the
nature of the thing defined so that, in effect, they are convertible or co-extensive. For example, it
is not adequate to say that man is “an animal”, because the animal aspect is merely a part of
mans nature and does not constitute its entirely. The same result is achieved if we say that man
is “rational” for the same obvious reason. The adequate definition of man is “rational animal”.
Thus, the same idea is conveyed whether we say “Man is a rational animal”, or, “A rational
animal is man”
 5. A definition must not contain the term or feature defined. This is obvious, because
we cannot define a term by itself. This results in a tautologous definition which is an error. We
cannot, for example, say that logic is “a knowledge pertaining to logic”, or, that a man is a “man
that reasons well”.

At times, however, we are simple interested in pointing out a characteristics of a thing

and, in this case, we may include the term defined in the definition. Thus, we may say that
concrete concept is a “concept which signifies the nature or quality inherent in an individual or
subject.