# Vocabulary Reference Detailed word lists for Nick's philosophical prose. Core principles are in the main SKILL.md; this file provides comprehensive lists with usage notes. --- ## Preferred Terms ### Characteristic Terms **"straightforward" / "straightforwardly"** - Use for claims that follow directly without complication - "The response is straightforward" - "This follows straightforwardly from..." **"plausible" / "implausible"** - For evaluating philosophical claims and arguments - "It is plausible that..." - "This seems implausible given..." **"consists in"** - NOT "is constituted by" - "The contribution consists in the arguments themselves" - "Understanding consists in grasping dependence relations" **"notice that" / "recall that" / "given that"** - For flagging points without announcement phrases - "Notice that the cases differ in..." - "Recall that Kripke's argument..." - "Given that standards are internal to the practice..." **"in short"** - For concise restatement after development - "In short, the arguments are the contribution" **"if this is correct, then..."** - For drawing consequences from established claims - "If this is correct, then LLMs can satisfy these standards" **"it is unclear to me why..."** - For expressing genuine puzzlement - "It is unclear to me why we should accept this" --- ## Terms to Avoid ### Empty Evaluatives These add no content, only register: - crucial - important - significant - substantial - compelling - sophisticated - elegant (as generic praise; fine when describing specific formal properties) - rigorous - key - central - foundational **Test**: Can you remove the word without changing the claim? If yes, it's empty. **Example**: - ❌ "This is a crucial distinction" - ✓ "This distinction matters because..." (say WHY it matters) --- ### Performative Hedges These hedge confidently-held claims for show: - "it is far from obvious that" - "one could potentially suggest" - "it might perhaps be argued that" **Genuine hedging is fine**: "While I find this line of thought persuasive, I want to argue here that..." **The difference**: Genuine hedging acknowledges actual uncertainty. Performative hedging adds academic-sounding caution to claims you're confident about. --- ### Announcement Phrases These narrate the argument instead of making it: - "it should be emphasised that" - "Crucially,..." - "Significantly,..." - "It is worth noting that..." (this one is actually fine when genuinely flagging something unexpected) - "Importantly,..." **Test**: Does removing the phrase change what the sentence says? If not, the phrase is empty. --- ### Generic Evaluatives Adverbs that add register, not content: - persuasively (as in "X persuasively argues") - astutely - incisively - convincingly - compellingly **Better**: Quote X's specific claim and respond to it. Let the reader judge whether it's persuasive. --- ### Latinate Where Anglo-Saxon Works **The Principle**: If the Latinate word adds a distinction the Anglo-Saxon word lacks, keep it. If it adds only register, replace it. #### Replace These: **utilize** → use - ❌ "LLMs utilize training data" - ✓ "LLMs use training data" **facilitate** → help - ❌ "This facilitates understanding" - ✓ "This helps readers understand" **elucidate** → clarify - ❌ "The example elucidates the distinction" - ✓ "The example clarifies the distinction" **relocate** → move - ❌ "The argument relocates the debate" - ✓ "The argument moves the debate" **dissolve** → remove - ❌ "This dissolves the worry" - ✓ "This removes the worry" (or better: say what's true about the subject matter) **constitute** → make up / are - ❌ "Arguments constitute the contribution" - ✓ "Arguments are the contribution" **intensify** → sharpen - ❌ "This intensifies the objection" - ✓ "This sharpens the objection" **instantiate** → show / exhibit - ❌ "The case instantiates the pattern" - ✓ "The case shows the pattern" #### Keep These: **defeasible** — no Anglo-Saxon equivalent, names a specific philosophical concept **rigid designator** — technical term **a priori** / **a posteriori** — standard philosophical terms **phenomenology** — names a specific domain --- ### Multi-Word Latinate Phrases These can be compressed: **"positions itself relative to"** → handles / treats - ❌ "The paper positions itself relative to the literature" - ✓ "The paper addresses the literature" **"draws from X the conclusion that"** → concludes / takes X to show - ❌ "We draw from this the conclusion that..." - ✓ "This shows that..." **"develops positive arguments from"** → argues from - ❌ "The paper develops positive arguments from Williamson" - ✓ "The paper argues from Williamson" **"the materials for an answer are present in"** → has resources for this in - ❌ "The materials for an answer are present in Dellsén" - ✓ "Dellsén has resources for this" **"engages with"** → addresses / deals with - ❌ "The paper engages with Floridi" - ✓ "The paper addresses Floridi's objection" **"it would strengthen the paper to"** → the paper should - ❌ "It would strengthen the paper to address this" - ✓ "The paper should address this" --- ## Usage Notes ### When Latinate Is Fine 1. **Technical terms** — "defeasible," "a priori," "phenomenology" 2. **When it adds precision** — "rigid designator" names something specific 3. **When Anglo-Saxon lacks the concept** — "intentionality" has no good substitute ### When to Replace 1. **When Anglo-Saxon does the same job** — "use" not "utilize" 2. **When it's register-climbing** — "facilitate" sounds fancier than "help" but means the same 3. **When it bloats phrasing** — "positions itself relative to" → "addresses" ### The Test Read the sentence with both versions. Does the Latinate add: - **A distinction?** Keep it. - **Just formality?** Replace it. --- ## Common Patterns ### Pattern 1: Empty Evaluative + Noun ❌ "This is a crucial distinction" ❌ "A significant objection" ❌ "The key insight" ✓ Just state the distinction, objection, or insight without the evaluative ### Pattern 2: Announcement Phrase + Claim ❌ "It is important to note that philosophy is text-based" ❌ "Crucially, standards are internal to the practice" ✓ "Philosophy is text-based" ✓ "Standards are internal to the practice" ### Pattern 3: Latinate Inflation ❌ "This facilitates the production of arguments" ✓ "This helps produce arguments" ❌ "The paper positions itself relative to recent work" ✓ "The paper addresses recent work" --- ## Further Examples See **references/examples.md** for contrastive before/after pairs showing these principles in practice.