The MEANING of meaning

Dear Language-ers, &
Fictionist, Transromantics
& Colleagues Across the Curriculum

Meaning.

Go ahead: define the Meaning of
“meaning.”

I have to capitalize and use quotes
to differentiate the 2 levels of meaning
here, true? Otherwise: potential
confusion. OR possibly pun, joke,
play of meaning meaningfully.


Levels, I said. It’s a hierarchy.
The Meaning of meaning is on a “higher”
(so to speak) logical LEVEL than just plain
meaning, true?

And it might be risky but not yet foolish to
wonder: well, what about the MEANING
of the Meaning of meaning. etc. How far
can you go toward infinite regress/egress
without losing IT?

IT, I said.
Do I have to be spelling IT out?

Do you find IT interesting: this level-of meaning
phenomena? The same word changes its “meaning”
(sign, signal, significance) as it is used/abused up &
down the hierarchical levels (contexts) of logical type.

[ MEANING {Meaning (meaning)}]

Do you think he meant
what he meant when he
said “I MEAN IT” ?

The MEANING of Meaning is not the same “meaning “
as just plain old meaning, true? Need we argue?
What’s the meaning of life, for example?
Ok , now what’s the meaning of meaning?
Is meaning the same meaning in both
meanings?

How Good are you at “level-loading”?
Stacking significance without confusing
the issue? good? Good? GOOD?

**********

TAUTOLOGY: tauto means “same”;
“logy” (as in biology, psychology, theology,
anthropology etc.) literally means WORD:
Logo, logic. As in "in the beginning was."

A “tautology” is a term that defines itself
in its own terms, like a box that boxes itself
(draw me one of those: a container that contains itself)



A rose is a rose is a rose, said Gertrude Stein: turning
UP the tautology of a definition that defines itself in its
own terms

I AM THAT I AM, said God to Moses, tautologically.

Meaning is what is meaningful,
we might say to each other, and if no one
peeped, it would pass.
“You know?”
“Know what I mean?”
“Know what I’m sayin?”
Ways we reinforce the urgency of our meanings
so as to feel understood in a FEELING way, if
not necessarily bottom-line specifically, know
what I mean?

Keep the converse-action going (sustained)
and the MEANING of it will ultimately reveal
itself if you don’t quibble too soon, see
what I’m saying?.

Tautology. The whole species humania defines
what’s “beyond” itself in terms of itself, true?

“This book sucks,” a student announced in class—
tautologically: the statement SAID about him, for sure.
Didn’t say a thing about the book, unless we all
AGREED that IT was about the Book and not
(tautologically) about the speaker, sayer.

See what I’m saying?
Or as Dong Ping says,
RIGHT?
RIGHT?

(Courses w/a/ Borders series:
Feel free to press "reply" or better
"reply to all" if this seems meaningful
enough to sustain some converse-
action.)

xxxooo, Sam