THE NOTION OF DEFINITION: A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH

Abstract

Philosophy and terminology, semantics and lexicography all study definition as a key concept. Each of these disciplines approaches the concept from a different angle. However, it is the comprehensive knowledge of all these aspects that reveals the essence of definition and leads to its creditable study. The present paper is an attempt to examine some of the focal philosophical ideas on the notion of definition. Since ancient times the process of defining definition has been a strenuous task and not all the theories proposed by philosophers were justified, yet each of them suggested a unique approach to the concept of definition and contributed to the development of the general theory.