LO G I C A N D D E F I N I T I O N
W H AT I S D E F I N I T I O N ?
• Definition is a technical and
structural organization of words
and/or terms or phrases in
explaining the meaning of a given
term
• A group of words that assigns
a meaning to some word or group
of words
TW O PAR T S OF A
DE F I NI TI ON:
1. The definiendum - is the word or
group of words that is supposed to be
defined.
EXAMPLE:
‘‘Tiger means a large,
striped, ferocious feline
2. The definiens - the word or group
indigenous to the jungles
of words that does the defining.
of India and Asia’’
A polygon is a closed plane figure made up of three or more-line
segments.
An acute illness is a disease that appears suddenly and lasts for a
short period of time.
Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's work without proper
acknowledgment.
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing and evaluating
information to make reasoned judgments.
TH E TYP E S AN D P U RP O SE S O F Based on the functions that they
DE F I NI T I O NS actually serve, definitions can be
classified into:
1. Stipulative
2. Lexical
3. Precising
4. Theoretical
5. Persuasive definitions
ST I P U L AT I V E
DE F I NI TI ONS
A stipulative definition assigns a meaning to
a word for the first time. This may involve
either coining a new word or giving a new
meaning to an old word. The purpose of a
stipulative definition is usually to replace a
more complex expression with a simpler
one.
ST I P U L AT I V E
DE F I NI TI ONS
We will eat KFC!
Kantostyle Fried Chicken
A stipulative definition is not used to
explain the existing meaning of a term. It
assigns a new meaning to a term, whether
or not the term has already got a meaning.
Delulu - A playful term meaning being delusional in a hopeful or
romantic way.
Ghosting - Suddenly cutting off communication with someone
without explanation.
Cancel - To collectively withdraw support from a public figure due
to problematic behavior.
Main Character - Acting as if you are the protagonist of your own
life story, focusing on self-confidence and personal growth.
LE X I C A L D E FI N I T I O N S
This definition is used to report the
meaning that a word already has in
a language. Dictionary definitions
are all instances of lexical
definitions.
Nurse - A healthcare professional trained to care for sick or
injured people.
Smartphone - A mobile phone that performs many functions of a
computer.
Student - A person who is studying at a school or university.
PRÉCISING DEFINITIONS
The purpose of a précising definition
is to reduce the vagueness of a word.
Example:
“Poor means having an annual income of less
than 50,000 pesos and a net worth of less
than 30,000 pesos”
PRÉCISING DEFINITIONS
Whenever words are taken from
ordinary usage and used in a highly
systematic context such as science,
mathematics, medicine, or law, they
must always be clarified by means of
a précising definition
PRÉCISING DEFINITIONS
In surgical transplantation of vital organs. Before a heart
transplant, the donor must be dead.
If the donor is dead for too long, however, the success of the transplant
will be imperiled. But exactly when is a person considered to be dead?
Is it when the heart stops beating, when the person stops breathing,
when rigor mortis sets in, or some other time?
The question involves the meaning of the term ‘‘moment of death.’’
The ‘‘moment of death’’ should be taken to mean the moment the brain
stops functioning, as measured by an electroencephalograph.
This decision amounts to the acceptance of a précising definition for
“moment of death.’’
TH E ORE TI CA L
DEF IN IT IO N S
A theoretical definition assigns a meaning to a
word by suggesting a theory that gives a certain
characterization to the entities that the term
denotes.
Example:
“Heat means the energy associated with the
random motion of the molecules of a
substance.’’
THEORY What is Personality?
Psychodynamic emphasizes
personality
the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on
emphasizes the importance of free will and individual experience in personality
Humanistic development
Suggests that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the
Behavioral environment
Theoretical definitions are neither true nor false, strictly
speaking. They function as proposals to see or interpret
some phenomenon in a certain way.
PERSUASIVE
DEFINITIONS
The purpose of a persuasive definition is to engender
a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward what is
denoted by the definiendum. This purpose is
accomplished by assigning an emotionally charged or
value-laden meaning to a word while making it
appears that the word really has (or ought to have)
that meaning in the language in which it is used.
EXAMPLE:
“Abortion’’ means the ruthless murdering of
innocent human beings.
‘‘Abortion’’ means a safe and established
surgical procedure whereby a woman is
relieved of an unwanted burden.
EXTENSIONAL Extensional definition is one that assigns a
meaning to a term by indicating the members of
DEFINITION
the class that the definiendum denotes. There
are at least three ways of indicating the
members of a class:
1. Pointing to them (demonstrative or ostensive
definitions)
2. Naming them individually (enumerative
definitions)
3. Naming them in groups (definitions by subclass).
DEM O N S T R AT I VE ( O S T EN S I VE)
DEF I N I T I O N S
Demonstrative (Ostensive) Definitions are probably
the most primitive form of definition. All one need
to know to understand such a definition by means
of pointing to a thing or object.
Example:
“Chair’’ means this and this and this (as you
point to a number of chairs, one after the
other)
EN U M E R AT I VE DEF I N I T I O N S
Enumerative Definitions assign a
meaning to a term by naming the
members of the class the term denotes.
Example:
“Actor’’ means a person such as Piolo Pascual,
Coco Martin and Christopher De Leon.
D E F I N I T I O N BY
SUBCLASS
Definition by Subclass assigns a meaning
to a term by naming subclasses of the
class denoted by the term.
Example:
“Fictional work’’ means a poem, a play, a
novel, or a short story.
INTENSIONAL DEFINITION
An intensional definition one that assigns a
meaning to a word by indicating the qualities or
attributes that the word connotes. There are at
least four strategies that may be used to
indicate the attributes/qualities that a word
connotes.
1. Synonymous Definition
2. Etymological Definition
3. Operational Definition
4. Definition by Genus and Difference
SYNONYMOUS DEFINITION
Synonymous Definition is one in which the
definiens is a single word that connotes the
same attributes as the definiendum- that the
definiens is a synonym of the word being
defined.
Example:
“Physician” means doctor.
“Observe “means see.
ETYMOLOGICAL
DEFINITIONITION
Etymological Definition assigns a
meaning to a word by disclosing
the word’s ancestry in both its
own language and other
languages
Example:
‘‘License’’ is derived from the Latin verb
licere, which means to be permitted.
O P E R AT I O N A L
DEFINITION
Operational Definition assigns a
meaning to a word by specifying
certain experimental procedures
that determine whether or not the
word applies to a certain thing.
Example:
One substance is ‘‘harder than’’ another if and only if one
scratches the other when the two are rubbed together.
DEFINITION BY GENUS AND
DIFFERENCE
Definition by Genus and Difference assigns a
meaning to a term by identifying a genus term
and one or more difference words that, when
combined, convey the meaning of the term
being defined
Example:
Species Difference Genus
“Ice” means frozen water