by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #126 posted on May 29, 2021, edited on June 1, 2021.
One of the common mistakes in semantics is assuming that some words refer to something rather than to the absence of its opposite. The following words are sometimes useful, but they must be used as adjectives with the full understanding of both user and reader/hearer that in the form of a noun they lack referents[1] and must not be treated as if they actually exist.
Cold in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of heat. Thus, cold cannot be used as an actor or cause of anything. Water turns into ice when it loses heat and into steam when it gains heat. Living creatures die when their bodies lose heat. Nonetheless, cold in the form of an adjective can be a useful term in referring to one end of the temperature spectrum, with hot referring to the other end.
Dark in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of light. Thus, it cannot be used as an actor or cause of anything. Nonetheless, dark in the form of an adjective can be a useful term in referring to one end of the daylight spectrum, with light referring to the other end.
Empty in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of fullness or something. Thus, it cannot be used as a medium through which energy – e.g. light or sound – can travel. Talk about interstellar space being empty or a vacuum makes no sense. Nonetheless, empty in the form of an adjective can be a useful term in referring to one end of the content spectrum,[2] with full referring to the other end.
Evil in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of good. Thus, it cannot be used as an actor or cause of anything. Talk about whether or not God created evil make no sense. Nonetheless, evil in the form of an adjective can be a useful term in referring to one end of the moral spectrum that God has established for self-conscious beings, with good referring to the other end. Beings who rebel against God by rejecting his sovereignty and disobeying his commandments inhabit the evil end of the spectrum. Beings who honor God by affirming his sovereignty and trying to obey his commandments, which they can never do perfectly, inhabit the good end of the spectrum. The Bible is full of admonitions to avoid doing evil things and to embrace doing good things.
Infinity in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of finiteness or limits. It cannot be used to describe an extent of time or space. Thus, talk about Universe being infinite makes no sense. Universe and everything in it are finite.
Nobody or no one in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of somebody or someone. Thus, it cannot be used as an actor or cause of anything. Talk about nobody or no one makes no sense. For example, to be strictly accurate, one must say “the room is empty,” not “nobody is in the room.”
Nothing in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of something. Thus, it cannot be used as an actor, cause, or source of anything. Talk about Universe emerging from nothing makes no sense. The Bible indicates that an omnipotent God created Universe with the power of his word, and, without such a God, the origin of Universe is inexplicable.
Nowhere in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of somewhere. Thus, it cannot be used to refer to a location from which something came.
Vacuum in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of content such as a solid, a liquid, a gas, a plasma, or a combination thereof, all of which are material. Thus, it cannot be used as a medium through which energy such as light or sound can move.
Zero in the form of a noun lacks a referent and must not be treated as if it actually exists. It refers to the absence of number. For example, if you say that a classroom contains 12 boys and 0 girls, the latter is not referring to real girls, because girls are absent from the classroom. It is, however, a mathematical concept or “additive identity” used to create integers – e.g. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 101, 102, 103,…110, 120, etc. in someone’s mind or writings.
© 2021 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] A referent is the objective, material entity to which a word refers – e.g. the referent to which the words “my keyboard” refers is the non-verbal device on my desk with which I am typing.
[2] The content spectrum measures the amount of material in a vessel that contains a solid (e.g. dirt), liquid (e.g. water), gas (e.g. propane) or plasma.