An idea lives in its own context
Taken out of its context the idea will change, or maybe even damage the idea. For example a joke might become offensive in another context.
Implications:
- In a new context the same idea can be re-used → everything is a remix
- every person has their own personal context, thus coloring the meaning of ideas
Literature notes
Fleeting notes
The meaning of an idea is often dependent on its context:
- linguistic
- cultural → The Culture Map - Erin Meyer
- historical
- personal.
The same idea can have different implications based on where, when, and how it is expressed.
Freedom:
- Ulysses - James Joyce → free from linguistic constraints
- Sixties
- Political independence
- Personal autonomy
A joke might be humorous in one cultural setting but offensive in another. → fixme 🧠 more on this
Philosophy - AI generated information:
Yes, in a philosophical sense, the meaning of ideas is highly context-dependent. This view is supported by thinkers from various traditions:
- Hermeneutics (Gadamer, Heidegger) – Meaning arises through interpretation within historical and cultural contexts. An idea’s significance shifts depending on the framework in which it is understood.
- Pragmatism (Dewey, Peirce, Rorty) – Ideas gain meaning through their practical consequences and how they function in different contexts.
- Structuralism & Post-Structuralism (Saussure, Derrida, Foucault) – Meaning is relational rather than intrinsic. Language and ideas depend on the structures they exist within, and these structures vary across cultures and histories.
- Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy – Meaning is found in “language games,” emphasizing that words (and ideas) derive their significance from the specific contexts in which they are used.
- Historical Materialism (Marx, Gramsci) – Ideas are shaped by material conditions, social relations, and historical circumstances. What an idea “means” is tied to the socio-economic structure in which it emerges.
5 → woke ideas, and the change of the meaning of the word discrimination