I feel the need to address the python vs. modern art thing too—if you just compare the extensional list of art against the intensional definition, you’ll see that modern arts pass as arts (at least sometimes) while python definitely doesn’t. Modern arts involve some work, are intended to inspire aesthetic emotions, and often do in some people experiencing them. Python, while being an elegant tool, was not (probably) designed with the primary intention of producing emotions, but rather with the intention of being a convenient tool to code.
Also, there is a legitimate quest of finding the “right definition” of a word, as in what concept it represents. Even if there is no class corresponding to it in reality (e.g. God) the existence of the word means some people treat it as a meaningful concept. If enough people use the same word with enough gravitas, and you want to talk to them about it, you will need to understand what their common ground of the idea is. Even if, as with free will, you arrive at the conclusion that there is no common ground to speak of. Not as interesting as carving reality, perhaps, but if you are somewhat interested in what other humans think, it does have merit.
I feel the need to address the python vs. modern art thing too—if you just compare the extensional list of art against the intensional definition, you’ll see that modern arts pass as arts (at least sometimes) while python definitely doesn’t. Modern arts involve some work, are intended to inspire aesthetic emotions, and often do in some people experiencing them. Python, while being an elegant tool, was not (probably) designed with the primary intention of producing emotions, but rather with the intention of being a convenient tool to code.
Also, there is a legitimate quest of finding the “right definition” of a word, as in what concept it represents. Even if there is no class corresponding to it in reality (e.g. God) the existence of the word means some people treat it as a meaningful concept. If enough people use the same word with enough gravitas, and you want to talk to them about it, you will need to understand what their common ground of the idea is. Even if, as with free will, you arrive at the conclusion that there is no common ground to speak of. Not as interesting as carving reality, perhaps, but if you are somewhat interested in what other humans think, it does have merit.