The snow on the ground shimmers. The lustrous sky overhead is saturated with twinkling stars that peek through the emptiness of stark, sterile trees. The black velvet of shadows and the stillness of the cold make the world sparkle silently with every swishing step, every single syllable pronounced begins and ends with soft simplicity.
"So define it... say what it means. Use a reference.... what's the dictionary say?"
"A man wrote that book. Man is flawed. One man's definition is not enough... and when you have other men referring to his answer, language is distorted. There have been many, dictionaries, too."
"So name the dictionaries. How many dictionaries exist?"
"...I don't know... but they exist, or did at one time. ...Merriam......... and..."
"Yes. Websters. The most universally used source in the English language. How many other dictionaries are there?"
"I....... I don't know."
Not quite one year later, only one day after the first snow in 2011, here is a link to the Wikipedia piece on dictionaries, to satisfy that segment of this old conversation that won't be over until it is won.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary
As for the roots of the conversation... let's proceed to the root of the word that was being discussed-- at first lightheartedly (in lieu of the granted wish to have "arguments"), and shortly thereafter fervently (each voice vindicated in the advice held dearly in our left brain attempts to uphold integrity: When you're wrong, admit you're wrong. When you're right, don't give up.)
From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary itself (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self).
3 self; noun; plural selves
Definition of SELF
1a : the entire person of an individual
b : the realization or embodiment of an abstraction
2a (1) : an individual's typical character or behavior her true self was revealed
(2) : an individual's temporary behavior or character his better self
b : a person in prime condition feel like my old self today
3: the union of elements (as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations) that constitute the individuality and identity of a person
4: personal interest or advantage
5: material that is part of an individual organism ability of the immune system to distinguish self from nonself
There you have it.
I look forward to future conversations. I look forward to finding hard truth, consequently all truth, and not giving up until that truth is accepted.
...And remember: There are no contradictions.:)
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