Rejoice, the holiday that all compatibilists “love” is upon us soon! It is the day that all non-existent things can be claimed to exist, in fact the very point of Semantic Shift Day is to re-define the nonexistent! I thought I would post this in the very beginning of the month rather than right on the day, that way people can mark their calendars if they want.
SEMANTIC SHIFT DAY FAQ
What is Semantic Shift Day?
Semantic Shift Day is a created holiday in which you redefine all things that do not exist in a way that makes it so you can say they do exist!
When is Semantic Shift Day?
Semantic Shift Day starts at midnight on August 30th (or when you wake up August 31st) and ends on the midnight of August 31st, based on your current time-zone. So basically the last day of August is Semantic Shift Day!
What is the purpose of Semantic Shift Day?
The point of this holiday is to demonstrate the absurdity and confusions that arise when people shift words or terms around to mean something uncommon, or when they neglect a key concept implied in the word which the majority of people hold.
When did the Semantic Shift Day holiday begin?
Semantic Shift Day began on August 31st, 2016. Here is the first post: Semantic Shift Day – August 31st
How do I celebrate Semantic Shift Day?
Any word that you know does not exist, is illogical, or that there is no evidence for (fairies) needs to be redefined for the entire day into something that does exist (dandelion florets). When referring to that thing (dandelion florets), try to use the other word as much as possible (fairies).
If you hear someone using a word or term in the context of that thing not existing, you might want to argue that it does indeed exist. Do what free will compatibilists do and be really vague on the (re)definition you are using. At some point after the person is good and annoyed, you can tell them that today is Semantic Shift Day and finally give them the (clear) re-definition you are using. See an example convo here.
What words should I not re-define?
Do not re-define words that actually do exist. Though it could be fun to re-define the moon as the sun and then say you have moonburn, this day is about re-defining non-existent or inevident things into existence in similar fashion as free will compatibilists and pantheists do.
What can you do to promote Semantic Shift Day?
Post this or something like it on your social media sites or website:
Happy Semantic Shift Day – August 31st
On Semantic Shift Day we re-define the non-existent into existence for one day. This means everything now exists under your new definitions and you should attempt to use some of these newly defined words that normally represent non-existent things like fairies, leprechauns, Santa, free will, and so on …throughout the day. See here for more info on what this holiday is about and the point it makes: https://breakingthefreewillillusion.com/semantic-shift-day/
Be sure to set a calendar reminder for August 31st!
'Trick Slattery
Latest posts by 'Trick Slattery (see all)
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