open texture

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English

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Etymology

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Coined by Austrian philosopher Friedrich Waismann in 1945.

Noun

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open texture

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  1. (philosophy) A philosophical concept that refers to the universal possibility of imprecision in empirical statements.
  2. (law) The phenomenon that legal rules are a function of language and are thus subject to attempts at definition of vague or interpretative terms.

Usage notes

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The philosophical concept of open texture differs slightly from that of vagueness. For instance, the term "mother" is not vague, but can be made to seem imprecise (read "open-textured") if one draws a distinction between the mother who produces the ovum, the one who carries the fetus, and the one who delivers the baby. [1]