What's the literal interpretation of "Are you alone?" if Jill were to ask Joe over the phone?

Comfortable up there, I see.

Jill did not ask over the phone. The question is irrelevant. The following isn't...

--

It makes no sense whatsoever to say that Joe's honest answer SHOULD HAVE been "No" based upon that interpretation, because if Joe has enough mental capacity and understanding of the English language to infer/assume that "Are you alone?" means "Are you isolated from others?" then he clearly ought be able to figure out that because Jill is asking in person then she is not asking him to count her. She can see that much for herself.

So, if, and only if, Joe assumes that Jill meant "Are you isolated from others?" AND he believed that she was asking him to count her, then "No" would serve to be an honest answer. It would follow that if he answered "Yes" based upon such an mal-formed understanding, then he would be lying.

However, and this is important...

You've claimed that his honest answer SHOULD HAVE been "No." You're arguing that his interpretation SHOULD HAVE been "Are you isolated from others?" You're arguing that he SHOULD HAVE counted Jill, which entails that he SHOULD HAVE believed that she was asking him to count her.

So, I must ask...

Why should Joe not just interpret the question in the manner that nearly all folk do when answering that question? In other words, why should Joe act as if 1.he's being a smartarse or 2.he doesn't understand what common questions mean?



--

Say something philosophically interesting or stay on the porch. Are you ready, willing, and/or able to do that?

Not with a child whose best rebuttal is "putz" and who refuses to engage honestly.


I'm laughing @ you...


What's the literal interpretation of "Are you alone?" if Jill were to ask Joe over the phone?

The best has not been engaged by your good self. To quite the contrary, you've neglected to give it the attention that it deserves. I thought you understood earlier. I was apparently mistaken about that. I don't blame you for not wanting to engage in what has just been revealed, for even the most difficult of folk find it very hard to continue arguing for a position after it becomes obvious to them how ill-founded it is.

Be well Pan. Hopefully something good has come out of all this.

I'll join you in further discussion if, and ONLY IF, you address what was just written regarding your intitial claim(s) - which is what began this discussion - with something philosophically interesting.

IOW, justify your initial claims in light of what has just been shown in my post on Sat 04/14/12 @ 02:36 AM. Until then, my work is done here, and you can laugh @ me all you like.

The prediction still stands true...

You're just skeered! LOL!

I didn't read through the 40 odd pages to find out if somebody had already said so but...

How can an honest person know that it's a lie unless it was pointed out to him?

The story of the Emperors New Clothes is how i arrived at the conclusion.

Doesn't a lie require that the teller not believe what they're saying?

Yes you can sometimes spot a lie by looking at a person,its in their eyes the pupils move to the side,they may make it even more obvious by going guilty.put their head down,even blush,ive been taken in by lies, though and i dont like false charm ie when guys youve never met say i love you 6 times a day, i want babys with you a week after knowing you or a day lol.creeps me out

What if they believe what they're saying? Is that a lie?

What's the literal interpretation of "Are you alone?" if Jill were to ask Joe over the phone?

in my experience everyone lies.I have yet to meet a person who said they didnt when the subject came about.So heres a question.
What defines honesty ?

When speaking, stating what one believes.

This thread was over in the first few pages, but because of spiteful interactions we have 40+pages.

You can know a lie when you know the context of another persons knowledge, and catch them misrepresenting their own knowledge.

I set up a logical presentation, initially without enough clarity assuming others would play nice, and it works just fine.

Nothing more needed to be done, but creative thinks he can reason with peter, IMHO the biggest mistake creative has ever made.

And it took you this long to admit your mistake???

I made no mistake except expecting you to work with me vs against me regardless of the scope of the topic.

Pay attention to the bolded words above. You denied that earlier...

I will not "work with you" to conspire to call someone a liar whether they are real or hypothetical.

Classic peter. Equivocating the meanings of words to suit his narrative.

A truely honest person would have a hard time understanding the concept of a lie but they probably would understand the result.

If you are the kind of person who just doesn't think of a lie as an answer to a problem it seems like a language that you just don't know. It just doesn't register. You hear the sound and can react to it but you don't really feel threaten by it unless it is supper loud and startles you or makes your ears hurt.