- There is a swing in the meaning of the word [[rule]].
- A: "Do not kill people."
- B: "If you kill a person, you shall be imprisoned for how many years?"
- Which OR both is the rule depends on who you think is the rule.
- Japan's criminal law is b
- Religious precepts like "Don't kill anything" are a
Examples of miscommunication by semantic swing
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Mr. A’s utterance, “Don’t do X.”
- Intent: “These are the rules and everyone should follow them.”
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Mr. B’s interpretation of it.
- Mr. A. personally believes that we should not do X.”
- It’s Mr. A’s personal beliefs, and others don’t have to follow them.”
- I know Mr. A doesn’t like X personally, so I’ll just leave it as X or not X when it’s okay~”
- But I’ll do X when I want to.”
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What Mr. A thinks when he sees Mr. B who is not X
- Mr. B understands the rules and follows them not X.”
- But Mr. B doesn’t interpret that as a rule.
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Then, seeing Mr. B who did X, Mr. A utters, “It’s against the rules! Why did you do X!”
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Mr. B: “It’s not a rule in the first place. Why shouldn’t I do X?”
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Mr. A: “Because it’s the rules!”
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be parallel
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There is a swing in interpretation of what is or is not a rule.
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Even after acknowledging that it is a rule, there is a swing in interpretation that “just because it is a rule does not mean it should be followed.” - Rules and Negotiations
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The rules are man-made.
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The existing rule is a product of past negotiations.
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The fact that an action violates existing rules is not a reason not to do it. We have the option to change the rules through negotiation.
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