Is this truly necessary?

[marshaul]

If Nazi Germany didn't meet the definition of a "police state", then there is no such thing as a police state! He OWNED the courts of Nazi Germany - of course they supported him!! What didn't you understand about that? Pax...

I understand it perfectly well. And what you're arguing is absurd. I was hoping to demonstrate that, but I think you've done it well enough for yourself.

I submit that Nazi Germany is the definition of a police state, and if some dictionary (not all dictionaries, mind you, just some of them) have a definition which precludes Nazi Germany, that definition is wrong to the extent that it does so.

Not that this is a surprise. Definitions are not Merriam-Webster's strong suit. In this regard I far prefer the NOAD. Which reads, incidentally:

police state |pəˈlis ˈsteɪt|
noun
a totalitarian state controlled by a political police force that secretly supervises the citizens' activities.

See? Nice. Simple. Inclusive. What a good definition should be.

The whole point of this little exercise is to point out that reliance on a single dictionary as an arbiter of meaning is itself a commission of the appeal to authority fallacy.

 

[Gil223]

I understand it perfectly well. And what you're arguing is absurd. I was hoping to demonstrate that, but I think you've done it well enough for yourself.

Apparently you don't "understand it perfectly well". If perhaps you tried reading for understanding rather than points of contention, you would realize that I said exactly what you said in the sentence below, only from the opposite perspective.

I submit that Nazi Germany is the definition of a police state, and if some dictionary (not all dictionaries, mind you, just some of them) have a definition which precludes Nazi Germany, that definition is wrong to the extent that it does so.

I never said Nazi Germany WASN'T a police state!" There is no argument there (other than the one you seem to be trying to create). What I said was: "If Nazi Germany DIDN'T meet the definition of a "police state", then there is NO SUCH THING as a police state!" - and we all know that there ARE such things as police states. I respectfully decline to join you in a rousing game of "My Dictionary is Better Than Your Dictionary"... it's not my job to defend M-W's lexicographers.

Not that this is a surprise. Definitions are not Merriam-Webster's strong suit. (YOU say - but Hitler's Germany met the M-W definition of police state also) In this regard I far prefer the NOAD. (you are certainly as entitled to your preferences as you are to your opinions) Which reads, incidentally:
police state |pəˈlis ˈsteɪt|
noun
a totalitarian state controlled by a political police force that secretly supervises the citizens' activities.

See? Nice. Simple. Inclusive. (It's absolutely elegant!) What a good definition should be.

CONGRATULATIONS! You found the New Oxford American definition, which says ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING IN DIFFERENT WORDS, and, granted, it does so a bit more concisely, if not more accurately. :banghead: WOW! Let's have a dictionary measuring contest!

The whole point of this little exercise is to point out that reliance on a single dictionary as an arbiter of meaning is itself a commission of the appeal to authority fallacy.

The whole point of your little exercise seems to be one of trying to make yourself appear brilliant, while attempting to make others look foolish... which is one of the characteristic behaviors of a small, insecure person. Good luck in that endeavor. Pax...

 

[marshaul]

Let's have a dictionary measuring contest!

Isn't that what this thread's been devoted to for the past 4 or 5 pages?

 

[Citizen]

Let's have a dictionary measuring contest!

I win! I have an OED!




(not really)

 

[Grapeshot]

Isn't that what this thread's been devoted to for the past 4 or 5 pages?

Will grant you that - the present state of this thread being more suitable for the Social Lounge than for any stretch of General Discussion.

Trust that everyone had had a chance to vent their dictionary definitions and references to Nazi Germany.

Let's not forget that the purpose of this site is open carry - all other things are secondary, of limited application and/or only appropriate in certain circumstances.