[WikiEN-l] Characterizations of Behavior

Sun Jan 18 20:46:43 UTC 2004

Fred Bauder wrote:

>Any characterization of behavior is subject to the criticism that it could
>be replaced with a description of the phenomenon. We use these forms as a
>shorthand for such descriptions. "Sneak attack", for example, can serve in
>place of a long description explaining how a plan to declare war at 6 AM and
>attack at 7 failed because of a delay in decoding.
>
>The words "patriotic", "brave", "noble" and "democratic" come to mind in
>this context. These are words which express point of view. They don't need
>to be banned, just used consciously.
>
What's important about your comments is that they show that the same 
kind of problem can arise when the word in question has positive overtones.

Ec