On Dialogue and Meaningful Discovery

It seems important to understand the nuance between definition and argument. Too often we argue over definition. It seems better to explain definition and then employ those definitions to argue one’s position. In most cases there is no absolute authority to select one definition over another. This is particularly true of abstract concepts. For example, your definition of theology may not match mine. I suppose I can argue with you about my definition attempting to prove that it is better than yours, but that can digress into a futility of semantic shuffling. What is more important is to be certain that we understand each other’s definition, that we find mutually acceptable terms in order to further the dialogue, and that from there we argue towards meaningful discovery.