In regards to death, you may hear, “She is still coming to terms with the death of her father,” or some like adage.  In our society, “coming to terms means “finding the meaning of” or “responding to”.     Mortimer Adler writes a whole chapter titled “Coming to Terms with An Author” in How to Read a Book.   He summarizes, “For communication to be successfully completed, it is necessary for the two parties to use the same words with the same meanings - in short, to come to terms."

Adler’s writings on this topic may have been clearer to a reader who has a background in Logic.  I haven’t studied Logic in 30 years, but I’ll try to relate Adler’s points with a few points studied in Logic.  Adler repeatedly attempts to explain why words and terms are not synonymous. 

I think of words in the sense of very early reading skills.  A word has representative letters, phonic sounds, and a distinct spelling.  When we speak of terms we are moving over to the formal study of Logic.  Words can look alike but not MEAN alike.

• Equivocal terms, although spelled and pronounced exactly alike, have entirely different and unrelated meanings.  A pitcher, for example, can be a position in baseball or the thing out of which you pour lemonade.  Equivocal terms are used in puns.  “We must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang separately,” quipped Benjamin Franklin.

• Analogous terms are like equivocal terms, in that they are spelled and pronounced the same; they have different, but related meanings.  We can speak of a set of wheels to simply mean our car, or a set of wheels meaning 4 new tires.

If all terms were univocal, meaning they mean the same thing no matter when or how they are used, we would never have a problem understanding an author.  But since the English language is filled with equivocal and analogous terms, successful communication becomes a challenge.  This quick lesson in Logic hopefully differentiates words from terms. 

Adler uses an interesting algebraic notation, which may in fact confuse the difference between words and terms for some readers. But with specific examples, maybe this concept has more merit than not.   Let’s go back to “coming to terms with death”.  If “X” = the word DEAD and the variables a, b, and c represent different meanings (the term):

·        then Xa could be physically dead

·         Xb could be spiritually dead

·        Xc could represent the concept of dead wood, as in, “The company cut back and got rid of the dead wood.”

Taking Adler’s algebraic representation of terms a step further…..what if we add the reader’s belief system?  We all read with a worldview, moral compass and personal bias. In terms of the death of a loved one, if Xa means a person is physically dead/lifeless, we could propose:

·        Xa(1) =  an atheist’s point of view on death

·        Xa(2) = a Christian’s point of view on death

The meaning of the death of a loved one is indeed different between atheists and Christians.  While one may evoke fear and sadness, the other may evoke real joy and hope.  Reader Xa(1) of author Xa(2) may have difficulty with successful communication, unless they are well aware of the importance of coming to terms. 

When reading a book and coming to terms with an author, we must be cognizant of the words and their various terms.  But a prudent reader is also aware of the author’s worldview, and must keep his own moral compass close at hand.

• Post A Comment! • Send to a Friend!

Posted by AcceptanceWithJoy

I am finding your summary of How to Read a Book intriguing and I wish I had this insight earlier. I had to "come to terms" with JRR Tolkien's writing in the Lord of the Ring. The god character in the book was disappointing. He created Arda, but after that was uninvolved in history and is never heard from again. Definitely not the personal, immanent God of the Bible. I had assumed as a Christian writer Tolkein was writing from a Christian worldview. Only after reading the Silmarillion did I study more about this authors writing and the world of Arda. I learned that he never meant it to be an allegory of the Christian life.

Thanks again for taking the time to outline your learning ~ Blessings

• Permanent Link

Posted by mistresninos

thanks so much for posting this. I have to say after reading everyone's comments at the group I was terrified to read chapter 8. I thought I'd forgotten something from the last time I read through it and, to be honest, I'm not nearly as smart now as I was then (don't use it, you lose it, ya know). You've been a big help and encouragement to me. I hope you are having a fun week.

God Bless.

Sara

• Permanent Link