> It is not mystical...perhaps "magical" (some more splitting of hairs...
[snip]
> The same characteristic (necessariness) might similarly be applied to
> numbers--which though symbolic cannot indiscriminately stand for diverse
> relationships ("2 trees" applies to *two* trees, not three or four...and
it
> is the relationship between the symbol and the object which makes this
> "meaning" work, not the definition applied to the number "2"). It is the
> ordered quality of the (numeric) symbol which allows us to formulate
> mathematical equations. Similarly, the ordered quality of words allow us
to
> formulate logical relationships--not the relatively arbitrary
> interpretations applied to them by people in compromising situations with
> other people.
Yes... I think "magical" is the right term for your use of language after
all.
-Prof. Tim