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→What does a medical term mean
==What does a medical term mean==
==What does a medical term mean==
Let us ask ourselves what ''meaning'' means. The Cambridge Dictionary says that "''The meaning of something is what it expresses or represents''"<ref>[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/meaning Cambridge Dictionary online]</ref>.As simple as it may seem, the notion of 'meaning' is rather generic and vague; there is still no commonly accepted answer to the question 'what does "meaning" mean?' Controversial theories of meaning have been advanced, and each has its advantages and shortcomings<ref>{{cita libro
Let us ask ourselves what ''meaning'' means.
The Cambridge Dictionary says that "''The meaning of something is what it expresses or represents''"<ref>[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/meaning Cambridge Dictionary online]</ref>. As simple as it may seem, the notion of 'meaning' is rather generic and vague; there is still no commonly accepted answer to the question 'what does "meaning" mean?' Controversial theories of meaning have been advanced, and each has its advantages and shortcomings<ref>{{cita libro
| autore = Blouw P
| autore = Blouw P
| autore2 = Eliasmith C
| autore2 = Eliasmith C
}}</ref>.
}}</ref>.
Traditionally, a term is displayed as a linguistic label meaning an object in a world, concrete or abstract. The term is thought to stand in the language as a representative for that object, e.g. ‘apple’ for the famous fruit. This term ‘apple’ will have the same meaning for the American child, the European adult or the Chinese elder, while the meaning ‘<sub>n</sub>OP’will have an intention for the neurologist, one for the dentist, and its own essence the unfortunate Mary Poppins.
Traditionally, a term is displayed as a linguistic label meaning an object in a world, concrete or abstract. The term is thought to stand in the language as a representative for that object, e.g. ‘apple’ for the famous fruit. This term ‘apple’ will have the same meaning for the American child, the European adult or the Chinese elder, while the meaning ‘<sub>n</sub>OP’ will have an intention for the neurologist, one for the dentist, and its own essence the unfortunate Mary Poppins.
Such expressions do not derive their meaning from representing something in the world out there, but how they relate to other terms within one’s world or context.
Such expressions do not derive their meaning from representing something in the world out there, but how they relate to other terms within one’s world or context.
The meaning of ''pain'' for Mary Poppins is concerning what it can mean to her, to her conscience, and not about the external world: actually, asking the patient to attribute a numerical value to his pain, say from 0 to 10, makes no sense, has no meaning, because there isn't any internal normalizing reference to one's world or context. The same is true for the neurologist who will give sense to the term 'pain in the right half face' solely in his/her context based on synapses, axons, ion channels, action potentials, neuropeptides etc. The dentist will do the same, based on his/her context consisting mainly of teeth, temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles, occlusion etc. Concepts should not be neglected when it comes to ''''differential diagnosis'''<nowiki/>', because they could be sources of clinical errors. For this reason, we should reflect on the modern philosophy of 'Meaning', which began with Gottlob Frege<ref>[[:wikipedia:Gottlob_Frege|Wikipedia entry]]</ref>, as a compound of "extension" and "intention" of a term that expresses a concept.
The meaning of ''pain'' for Mary Poppins is concerning what it can mean to her, to her conscience, and not about the external world: actually, asking the patient to attribute a numerical value to his pain, say from 0 to 10, makes no sense, has no meaning, because there isn't any internal normalizing reference to one's world or context. The same is true for the neurologist who will give sense to the term 'pain in the right half face' solely in his/her context based on synapses, axons, ion channels, action potentials, neuropeptides etc. The dentist will do the same, based on his/her context consisting mainly of teeth, temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles, occlusion etc. Concepts should not be neglected when it comes to ''''differential diagnosis'''<nowiki/>', because they could be sources of clinical errors. For this reason, we should reflect on the modern philosophy of 'Meaning', which began with Gottlob Frege<ref>[[:wikipedia:Gottlob_Frege|Wikipedia entry]]</ref>, as a compound of "extension" and "intention" of a term that expresses a concept.