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    Carmelics

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    Made withinDC&Austin
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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that The meaning of generics is context-dependent and normatively loaded in ways that encode social bias rather than world knowledge (Leslie 2008).

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Many generics ('tigers have stripes,' 'birds lay eggs') express world knowledge independent of context or social bias about the groups referenced.
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    • 2.Context-dependence and normative loading are not unique to generics; they characterize all language, making generics not distinctively biased.
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    • 3.Attributing bias to generics' *meaning* conflates pragmatic use with semantic content; speakers may misuse generics without changing what they mean.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Generics like 'women are emotional' persist despite empirical evidence, suggesting social norms rather than facts drive their meaning.
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    • 2.Generic interpretations vary by community: the same generic carries different implications depending on speakers' social positions and histories.
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    • 3.Generics systematically reinforce stereotypes about marginalized groups while rarely doing so for dominant groups, revealing normative bias.
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