Linguistic Team International Forum

Quoted

LOVE AND EXTENSIONALITY

For centuries “love” has been a dominant word in our vocabulary. The definition varies so much today that the word has become almost meaningless. Love is subject to many different interpretations, most of them irrelevant to the behaviour associated with it. Perhaps the word “love” may one day be redefined in more relevant terms, such as our being extensional to one another. What is being extensional? Our arms and hands enable us to pick up and rotate objects, and to view them from many different positions. Our arms and hands are extensional along with our eyes, ears, nose and the rest of our physical body.

When a Single individual builds a log, cabin, it may take a long time to complete. With the help of several neighbours, the job can be completed in a short amount of time. The neighbours become extensional to this individual. The same is true of an entire community that acts in a supportive manner towards each another.

In the physical sciences, a structural engineer must work with a metallurgist to improve the strength and quality of structural materials. The two and their skills, their teamwork, are genuinely extensional. The physical sciences are the closet approach to genuine extensionality. Rather than being directed at a single individual, genuine extensionality serves all people equally. For instance, when contaminated water is purified, it benefits any person who uses the process. Vaccinating children to prevent disease is not only extensional to the individual, but also to almost everyone else with whom they are in contact. Identifying conditions responsible for a disease is extensional
and beneficial to all people regardless of their personal values and philosophy.

When different nations share technology intelligently, it is extensional to all people regardless if independent beliefs and national interests. Corporate systems, however, chiefly benefit owners and shareholders. When inventions serve of all people, they will truly be extensional.

Knowing the difference between governments and people who merely verbalize good intentions, as distinct from those who display actual extensionality, is essential to advancing civilization both physically and intellectually.

When a bank lends money to an individual, there is a benefit but it comes at a cost called debt and obligation. Genuine extensionality does not exact a toll. Extensionality at its most basic is an act of kindness one does without debt being incurred by the other person.
The more people become extensional to one another, the richer the civilization and the interaction between individuals become. In the future instead of asking, “Do I love this person?” one might identify the specific areas of extensionality that one shares with them.