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Definition:
The concept of "open texture" was introduced by Friedrich Waismann as part of his
effort to give greater nuance to the idea that all of our empirical ideas must be
strictly verifiable in order for them to make sense. According to Waismann, open
texture is not the same as vagueness, but rather the possibility of vagueness.
In other words, the words we use to express our ideas have enough potential meaning
and variability that we cannot be completely sure that we will always be able
to verify them in the way we might like. Waismann wrote:
Take any material object statement. The terms which occur in it are nonexhaustive; that means that we cannot foresee completely all possible conditions in which they are used... and that means that we cannot foresee completely all the possible circumstances in which the statement is true or in which it is false.
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Related Resources:
What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
