{"id":14712,"date":"2024-08-07T00:44:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T14:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/?p=14712"},"modified":"2024-08-07T00:47:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T14:47:02","slug":"when-all-meaning-is-thrown-overboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/07\/when-all-meaning-is-thrown-overboard\/","title":{"rendered":"When all meaning is thrown overboard"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mp_wrapper\">\n  <div class=\"mepr-unauthorized-excerpt\">\n    <p>Editor\u2019s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our Publishing Guidelines.\n&nbsp;\nDear Editor,\nI want to raise two examples of the importance of semantics. In the first example, according to the RSA Weekly (19 July 2024) the Royal Australian Navy is requiring that applicants for its secular wellbeing roles have a \u201cstrong spiritual connection\u201d and demonstrate how their spirituality informs their life.\nIf they're going to insist on this absurd (in my opinion) condition, they will first need to provide a precise definition of spirituality. It's not a word I'd ever use because I have no idea what it means. If I were to ask a large group of people, I feel sure the number of different definitions would approximate the number of people in the group.\nThe Shorter Oxford English Dictionary offers several definitions including: the clergy; the quality or condition of being spiritual (a definition remarkable for its circularity); the fact or condition of being immaterial.\u00a0\nOther dictionaries refer to the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. Defining in terms of spirit is also circular; defining in terms of soul is meaningful only to those who accept the existence of a soul.\nThe second example regards Islamophobia. Following the Prime Minister's recent appointment of Jillian Segal as the envoy to combat antisemitism, he also promised to make a simi...<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mepr-unauthorized-message\">\n    <hr style=\"width: 100%;max-width: 1000px !important;height: 5px;border-width: 0;color: red;background-color: red\" \/>\n<div style=\"text-align: center\">\n<h3><em>You're part way through this article. Want to keep reading?<\/em><\/h3>\n<h4><em>Only members of the Rationalist Society of Australia can read our Premium articles.\u00a0<\/em><\/h4>\n<h3 style=\"height: 20px\"><span style=\"color: #c83200\"><em><a style=\"color: #c83200\" href=\"https:\/\/rationalist.com.au\/membership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Become a member today.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><em>Already a member? Log in below.<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mepr-login-form-wrap\">\n            \n<div class=\"mp_wrapper mp_login_form\">\n                  <!-- mp-login-form-start -->     <form name=\"mepr_loginform\" id=\"mepr_loginform\" class=\"mepr-form\" action=\"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/login\/\" method=\"post\">\n            <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_username\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n                              <label for=\"user_login\">Username<\/label>\n        <\/div>\n        <input type=\"text\" name=\"log\" id=\"user_login\" value=\"\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_password\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n          <label for=\"user_pass\">Password<\/label>\n          <div class=\"mp-hide-pw\">\n            <input type=\"password\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"user_pass\" value=\"\" \/>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"button mp-hide-pw hide-if-no-js\" data-toggle=\"0\" aria-label=\"Show password\">\n              <span class=\"dashicons dashicons-visibility\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n            <div>\n        <label><input name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> Remember Me<\/label>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n      <div class=\"submit\">\n        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"wp-submit\" id=\"wp-submit\" class=\"button-primary mepr-share-button \" value=\"Log In\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_to\" value=\"\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14712\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_process_login_form\" value=\"true\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_is_login_page\" value=\"false\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/form>\n    <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n    <div class=\"mepr-login-actions\">\n        <a\n          href=\"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/login\/?action=forgot_password\"\n          title=\"Click here to reset your password\"\n        >\n          Forgot Password        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n\n      \n    <!-- mp-login-form-end --> \n  <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor\u2019s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. 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