What is 'givenness'

Question

What is the meaning of the word 'givenness'?Please help me understand the meaning with suitable examples.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

ks (Email Removed) (ksr) wrote on 02 Apr 2004:
[nq:1]What is the meaning of the word 'givenness'? Please help me understand the meaning with suitable examples.[/nq]
Did you find it in a sentence? It would help if you provided the entire sentence.
When something is "a given", it is something that can be taken for granted. That the sun will rise tomorrow is a given. That objects heavier than air will fall to the ground when dropped is a given. And so on.
The "givenness" of these two somethings, however, differ. If the sun doesn't rise tomorrow, that probably means that no one will be around to notice it. If a heavier-than-air object doesn't fall to the ground when dropped, that probably means it's in a space capsule orbiting the Earth, or else in some other natural or artifical weightless environment.
So, "givenness" seems to be a measure of how probable it is that a basic assumption (like the two above) will not be violated. "givenness" might also be defined as "the degree to which we take X for granted".
Other things can be givens, eg, "It's a given that when I criticize A for having screwed up again, A will say 'I"m sorry for being so stupid': A has never failed to say exactly that whenever A has been criticized for having screwed up".

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What is the meaning of the word 'givenness'? Please help me understand the meaning with suitable examples.[/nq]
[nq:1]Did you find it in a sentence? It would help if you provided the entire sentence. When something is "a ... being so stupid': A has never failed to say exactly that whenever A has been criticized for having screwed up".[/nq]
"Mode of givenness" (in German, "die Gegebenheitsweise") is a term of art in Husserlian phenomenology. My superficial understanding is that it refers to the manner in which a perception presents itself to the perceiver. I doubt this use of "givenness" is relevant to the OP, but you never know.

Mike Nitabach

Usenet · Answer

Michael Nitabach (Email Removed) wrote on 04 Apr 2004:
[nq:1]"Mode of givenness" (in German, "die Gegebenheitsweise") is a term of art in Husserlian phenomenology. My superficial understanding is that ... presents itself to the perceiver. I doubt this use of "givenness" is relevant to the OP, but you never know.[/nq]
It's been 23 years since I read Husserl in English but thank you for reminding me.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]"Mode of givenness" (in German, "die Gegebenheitsweise") is a term of art in Husserlian phenomenology. My superficial understanding is that ... presents itself to the perceiver. I doubt this use of "givenness" is relevant to the OP, but you never know.[/nq]
I'm not sure what else it could mean, though.

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

What is 'givenness'

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