• jaselle@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    16 hours ago

    I think this is the source of our disagreement. In my mind, the word “give” has at most a mild connotation of volition.

      • jaselle@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        15 hours ago

        For me, you can’t use ‘give’ if there was no action on the giver’s behalf, but coerced action counts as action. Same with take – you ‘take’ something only if you’re capable of a ‘take’ action. So if you’re in a coma, you can’t ‘take’ anything offered to you (except in idiomatic phrases where action on the taker isn’t expected, e.g. “to take abuse”).

        This is why I seriously believe that OP’s image is controversial more do to a difference in our linguistic understanding of the word “give” than do to a differing understanding of the facts.

        Edit: I think what may be happening here is the so-called “non-central” fallacy.