If the meaning of words can be redefined arbitrarily so that anything can mean anything, then nothing will mean anything. We live in a world where we try to resolve its complexity by identifying objects and using words to refer to those objects. The bond between words and their meanings is what helps us to navigate the world’s complexity. Of course, this bond is not always perfect: the same word can mean many different things, and the same object can be referred to by different words. But that nuance does not mean that there’s an absolute relativism where any word can mean anything. That will lead to complexity becoming unmanageable – and chaos and disorder and disaster befalling us in our inner and outer worlds.

Watch this content at: The danger of absolute relativism

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16.09 Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.