Trouser-word

In John Langshaw Austin's philosophy of language, trouser-word is a term that is not itself defined in terms of content, but only receives a meaning through the contrast to its negation.

According to Austin, terms are usually defined by their own criteria. In order to know what it means that something is X (or is an X), one has to know the criteria for it. Only with this knowledge can one say when something is not X (or not X). With trouser-words it is exactly the opposite: something is Y if it does not meet any of the criteria of not being Y. Typical examples for Austin are real and direct . Without z. For example, to know what it means that something is not a real duck, there is also no difference in content between the terms a duck and a real duck . Only in the context of B. a toy duck or a picture of a duck, the predicate real gives a meaning, which is different depending on the context-dependent definition of a fake duck.

literature

• John Langshaw Austin: Sense and Sensibilia , Oxford 1962