form

[Taka]

The sentence:

The very form of the adjective "scientific" might give pause to those who would force the word to cover such topics as the skill of boxer, or a knowledge of the theory and practice of the sacraments.

What exactly does "form" mean here?

 

[Tdol]

Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid. ;-)

 

[Taka]

Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid. ;-)

You mean you don't understand it either?

 

[Nahualli]

I'm going to take a crack at this.

In the dictionary, one of the 16 definitions of form was

The essence of something.

I am going to assume that what the reader is trying to imply is that the essence of the word "scientific" should not be used to describe the workings of such things as the skill of a boxer or the practice of [religious] sacraments, as that is against the very nature (or form) of the word "scientific"

-Nah-

 

[Casiopea]

The sentence:

The very form of the adjective "scientific" might give pause to those who would force the word to cover such topics as the skill of boxer, or a knowledge of the theory and practice of the sacraments.

What exactly does "form" mean here?

It means, shape/arrangement of parts and it's in reference to the suffix -ic, which means, characteristic of_______. Click Here

 

[Taka]

The sentence:

The very form of the adjective "scientific" might give pause to those who would force the word to cover such topics as the skill of boxer, or a knowledge of the theory and practice of the sacraments.

What exactly does "form" mean here?

It means, shape/arrangement of parts and it's in reference to the suffix -ic, which means, characteristic of_______. Click Here

I don't think your suffix analysis works, Cas.

Here is the entire paragraph:

Science is no static body of knowledge but rather an active process that can be followed through the ages. The sheer validity and success of the process in our own age has given rise to a good deal of misunderstanding of its nature and not a little misapplication of such terms as "science" and "scientific". We hear of the scientific methods of some prize-fighter, and a book has been published on the Science of the Sacraments. There is nothing in the laws of any country which forbids its citizens from giving to the words of their language such significance as the may choose, but science and scientific as employed in these connections have no relation to the great progressive acquisition of the knowledge with which we have here to deal. The very form of the adjective "scientific" might give pause to those who would force the word to cover such topics as the skill of boxer, or a knowledge of the theory and practice of the sacraments. By derivation scientific implies knowledge making, and no body of doctrine which is not growing, which is not actually in the making can long retain the attributes of science.

Nahualli's idea sounds interesting.

 

[Casiopea]

LOL! Taka, you must be tired or something today. :? Re-read the paragraph. 'form' refers to the adjectival us(ag)e of 'scientific'. :up:

 

[Taka]

LOL! Taka, you must be tired or something today. :? Re-read the paragraph. 'form' refers to the adjectival us(ag)e of 'scientific'. :up:

I'm not tired at all, Cas. Or are you?

Read the paragraph carefully. The entire paragraph is saying that science is not an absolute, perfect thing, as the ordinal people would think. So whether it's "science (noun)" or "scientific (adjective)", we shouldn't misuse it; we just have to be careful about anything which is called "science" or "scientific". That's the whole message, I think. Therefore, I don't think the grammatical form as you pointed out really matters in this case.

Contextually, Nahualli's interpretation works a lot better, IMO.

 

[Casiopea]

Or are you?

Yawn. :wink:

 

[Taka]

Or are you?

Yawn. :wink:

Does "yawn" imply "Sorry, I was wrong." in your language? :lol:

 

[Casiopea]

Does "yawn" imply "Sorry, I was wrong." in your language? :lol:

:lol: No. "Yawn" means I'm tired of the mental gymnastics. I live in Japan--I get my full share and then some. :lol:

 

[Taka]

You wouldn't admit you were wrong, would you? A bit devious of you. :lol:

(What do you mean "I get my full share and then some"?)

 

[Casiopea]

What do you mean "I get my full share and then some"?

:lol: more mental gymnastics :lol:

 

[Taka]

What do you mean "I get my full share and then some"?

:lol: more mental gymnastics :lol:

You are even a bit defiant.

 

[Casiopea]

You wouldn't admit you were wrong, would you? A bit devious of you. :lol:

Taka, I'm neither 'devious' nor 'defiant'. I'm just a kind soul who cares about people--even you, Taka.

If you feel my response to your question is "wrong", that's OK. You have a choice: you can choose to ignore it or you can choose to ask more about it so as to further discussion and learning.

Being a compassionate soul, I would like to accommodate your needs, but changing my post to suit you alone wouldn't benefit the students who learn from the responses your questions generate.

 

[Taka]

You have a choice: you can choose to ignore it or you can choose to ask more about it so as to further discussion and learning.

Actually, I put my analysis for further discussion. But your response to it was nothing but "yawn", which really disappointed me. If that's your "compassion", that's fine. I'll just have to leave here because it's a bit different from my definition of "compassion".

 

[Casiopea]

I'll just have to leave here....

Let's leave together. :up:

 

[Taka]

I'll just have to leave here....

Let's leave together. :up:

What's the...

You really failed me this time.

 

[Francois]

Hey guys, you both live in Japan, you could meet to make something of it....

...I mean, in front of a pint :wink:
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

FRC

 

[Taka]

Sorry about the mess, Francois. I apogolize if I made you worried.